FALSEHOODS FUELING FEAR OR FAKING FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19, FAKING ITS VACCINE BENEFITS; THREATEN PUBLIC HEALTH AND PEACE.

By Benjamin Pulle Niriwa, 16.10.2021

 

INTRODUCTION

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, economic activities were halted, resulting in global economic crisis (Ibn-Mohammed et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021) where the needy and vulnerable in societies were assisted by some Entrepreneurs/Philanthropists of companies to survive (Clift & Court, 2020; He & Harris, 2020). Since human beings are naturally “social animals” (Takano & Ichinose, 2018; Tomasello, 2014; Waytz, 2014); people where feeling the effect of the “Partial lockdown” in Ghana, for example, and have to escape, resulting in terms like: “Lockdown escapees” (Graphic, 2020; Niriwa b., 2020; Ayamga, 2020). These were happening because people are not used to the new behavioral changes like isolating themselves from others by staying at home, maintaining “social distance”, “quarantining” (Wilder-Smith & Freedman, 2020), and so on.

COVID-19 pandemic, which is a problem, did not only lead to economic difficulties, but some people lose their jobs (Posel et al., 2021; Ksinan Jiskrova et al., 2021) and others died. This shows that peace, health and entrepreneurship are interconnected triplets of the 21^st century world; since people could not work because of the lockdown, but people need peaceful environment to work for money to pay for health care and other services.

In every pandemic, the spreading of news in various media to educate the public (Gray et al., 2020; Hahn & Truman, 2015; IMUSCAHP21C., 2002) is very important in preventing it. For any outbreak, pandemic, or natural disaster; spreading information in the form of news (Liu et al., 2020; Wakefield et al., 2010; Kapp et al., 2009) creates awareness about it. This can be confirmed by previous or current outbreaks (Liu et al., 2020), “epidemics” (Thomas& Senkpeni, 2020; Martin*& Martin-Granel†, 2006), and “pandemics” (Cohn, 2012; Kelly, 2011) like Cholera, HIV/AIDS (Cohn, 2012), and H1N1 (Kelly, 2011) or COVID-19 (Jin et al., 2021).

We now have the term re-emerging because some of these diseases like Cholera and Tuberculosis (TB) have been re-occurring. Example, Cholera has been an outbreak (Mengel et al., 2014), epidemic (Serhan, 2017), and a pandemic (Deen et al., 2020) many times; it has been re-emerging and re-emerged last year (Deen et al., 2020) amidst COVID-19. This means that, even with previous pandemics and current ones, the media still needs to continue spreading news to remind the public on the need to constantly practice health prevention behaviors (Liu et al., 2020; Hahn & Truman, 2015; Wakefield et al., 2010).

Unfortunately, some news may rather end up doing a disservice than serving its main purpose of protecting peoples' lives by preventing further spread of any pandemic using “health education” (Thomas & Senkpeni, 2020; Gray et al., 2020). What makes such news become a problem is because the person spreading that news might be doing it for a good reason, but probably, out of ignorance, he/she might be causing more harm than good. This is why how the education is done (Kapp et al., 2009); as well as whether the person doing the education is knowledgeable is very important.

There were news that cause unnecessary “fear” and panic (Ren et al., 2020) before the COVID-19 vaccination; like most pandemics/epidemics (Thomas & Senkpeni, 2020; Serhan, 2017), it is faced with many “false rumors” especially at the early stages. This write-up “PUBLICATIONS CAUSING FEAR AND PANIC OF COVID-19 VACCINE, CREATE MISTRUST; THREATENS PUBLIC HEALTH AND GLOBAL PEACE, PLEASE STOP” talks about false rumors before (part one) or during manufacturing of the vaccine (part two), the current issues associated with COVID-19 Vaccination (part three), challenges/consequences (final part) and conclusion or suggestions.

This current one, which is part one, is going to focus on “False Rumors and Perceptions before COVID-19 Vaccine Is Manufactured” under the main heading: “UNDERSTANDING WHY THERE IS INCREASE MISTRUST ASSOCIATED WITH THE COVID-19 VACCINES”.

 

  

UNDERSTANDING WHY THERE IS INCREASE MISTRUST ASSOCIATED WITH THE COVID-19 VACCINES

Part One: False Rumors and Perceptions before COVID-19 Vaccine Is Manufactured

A Virologist, Peter Daszak, and his group are known for the creation of pathogenic viruses in their lab for two decades (20 years) now (Wade, 2021). His organization is said to have “funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology”; yet he is alleged to have made statements in an interview (09.12.2019) even before COVID-19 becomes a pandemic, that suggested that SARS-CoV-2 is a Laboratory Man-made virus (Wade, 2021).

Whether it is true or not true that he says what is published, it contradicts whatever he says subsequently, and therefore becomes a serious issues of mistrust. It creates suspicion if the same person is who created such a perception about the origin of the virus; suddenly keeps saying after the pandemic “before, during, and after” the visit of World Health Organization (WHO) to their lab that it is not possible that it originated from lab.

It is on record that in 2015; “Shi Zheng-li and Ralph S. Baric” have successfully genetically engineered a “novel virus” using the “backbone of the SARS1 virus” where a “bat virus (known as SHC014-CoV)” is used in exchange for “its protein” (Wade, 2021). That investigation which were financed by “the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)” were managed by, Daszak.

He has confirmed in the interview that they are working with Ralph Baric to manipulate coronaviruses in their lab that can cause zoonosis. Once the people are aware that you are trying to engineer “coronaviruses to attack human cells”, when there is a pandemic of a similar origin; definitely they would suspect you.

Meanwhile, there is an old canker of “mistrust of science” (NAS et al., 2017) but science gives birth to health care services delivery. This canker, an old pandemic, is what has always reared its ugly head in the midst of most pandemics. The first serious issue associated with the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic has been the branding of the pandemic as a “Man-made” disease (Ellis, 2021; Bowler, 2020; Hielmgaard, 2020).

This has resulted in a situation where Chinese were discriminated against and stigmatized (Demirtaş-Madran, 2020; Devakumar et al., 2020; Croucher et al., 2020), because they have been falsely tagged as the problem of the world (Niriwa, 2021; Demirtaş-Madran, 2020). This is fueled by the Chinese government appointees’ suppression of COVID-19 information of public health importance at the beginning of the pandemic (Maxmen & Mallapaty, 2021). Some described SARS-CoV-2 as “A Man-Made Virus with an HIV like Component” (Dongen, 2020) as evidence. The Chinese government initial behavior has also partly contributed to this perception about the virus! 

Before COVID-19 vaccine could be manufactured, there was a revelation of a supposed expected “flu pandemic” in which many humans who were vaccinated died from the vaccine, and it was later suspended on “December 16, 1976” (Dongen, 2020). This information accompanied with the impression that SARS-CoV-2 is a laboratory man-made virus, created false perception(s) before its vaccines are read. The behavior of people towards COVID-19 is something that they carry form their previous experiences of pandemics as revealed by researchers (Dongen, 2020; Thomas & Senkpeni, 2020).

In the outbreaks of Cholera (Serhan, 2017) and Ebola (Thomas & Senkpeni, 2020), for example, they were tagged as being conspiracies theories of human beings for their own selfish interests. Whilst the local leaders are blamed for manufacturing Ebola for money (Thomas & Senkpeni, 2020), an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) called Oxfam International is also allegedly blamed for using Cholera to kill “One person nearly every hour” (Serhan, 2017).

These false rumors which are mostly associated with most pandemics are not healthy as they create mistrust in our health care services delivery. But “Health is wealth” (Carlson, 2016; Phrasisombath et al., 2013) and “Wealth is health” (Phrasisombath et al., 2013); both are peace. Positive mentality/mentalities of people about our health care services delivery alone is healing, and the best health prevention behavior!

Unfortunately there was rumors that Chinese government secretly burnt some bodies suspected to be “Coronavirus victims” (AP, 2020; YouTube., 2020). The WHO is not against cremation, but the impression created is that the government was hiding the real cases of COVID-19 deaths (AP, 2020). Different meanings are attached to this rumor since it is revealed that some of the bodies were illegally added the official number without proper identification (AP, 2020)!

The straw that surprisingly broke the camel’s back is that, Frontline Workers who have sacrificed their times and lives to help save others were targets for discrimination and stigma (Niriwa, 2021; Grover et al., 2020). Discriminating and stigmatizing health care workers at the onset of the pandemic is a contributing factor why some frontline health workers, like nurses, who were finally diagnosed as being infected with SARS-CoV-2 committed suicide (Sweeney, 2020; Steinbuch, 2020).

Figure 1: Causes of COVID-19 Discrimination and Stigma (B), Cause COVID-19 Vaccines Mistrust (A). Retrieved from (Niriwa, 2021).

How would you feel, to be sacrificing your life to save others and the same people are maltreating you and running away when they see you? Some contact tracers in Ghana, for example, were openly threatened with death by suspected COVID-19 positive persons (Asamoah, 2020). If health professionals are discriminated against and stigmatized though negative for the virus, you can imagine the psychological trauma of any them when he/she is finally tested positive for it. 

Though COVID-19 Pandemic is serious and requires the synergies of everyone; some “journalists”, “academicians” and “activists” were always attacked (Nugraheny, 2021; Niriwa a., 2021; IPI., 2021; Nyobe, 2020). But these groups of people are very important in helping to prevent any pandemic from further spreading; they also help in the promotion of peace in general. The politicians have the powers but the politicians alone cannot make this world a better place for everyone without synergizing with other professional groups!

It is revealed that Eastern and Central Europe Governments try to cover up some issues about COVID-19 and were harassing journalists who try to report or give news on such issues (Speier, 2021). When this happens, it creates false “perceptions or rumors” (Fig. 1.) as if there is/are some secret(s) about the pandemic that government wants to hide. An environment like that increases the suspicion or rumor that the virus might really be “Man-made”.

The perceptions created by some governments (Speier, 2021; Renda* & Castro, 2020) and the causes of COVID-19 discrimination and stigma above (Niriwa, 2021), are some of the reasons why some people would treat those who have devoted their time and sacrificed their lives (Sabetian et al., 2021; PAHO, 2020; Bandyopadhyay et al., 2020) to save them as the cause of their problem (Larkin, 2021; Asamoah, 2020). Fake news alone is enough to create these perceptions amongst others as revealed by Niriwa, (2021) in figure 1B. They are the same causes of the current increased mistrust that are associated with the COVID-19 Vaccination!

Some religious leaders have done excellently by quickly condemning comments by some members who tagged the pandemic as an anger that God (Dennis, 2020) is pouring on sinners (Brown, 2020; Dossey, 2020; Gordon, 2020). Yet, it created the false impression that those who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 are sinners; this has also contributed to the increase discrimination and stigma that infected persons and their families were facing (Niriwa, 2021, Fig. 1.). These utterances are false rumors because COVID-19 does not discriminate, but they have created some false perceptions that others have about the disease and its prevention protocols.

Thank you for Read, Wait for part Two! But share your comments, suggestions, recommendations or criticisms.

 

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