Immunization Challenges

By Wen Qing

Sixty-one-year-old Zhang Juhua finally received his first jab of a COVID-19 vaccine on May 25. A resident of Qingdao， Shandong Province， Zhang could have been vaccinated earlier. However， during the first round of mass vaccination in his community in March， Zhang hesitated to take the dose as he was concerned about its safety and believed there was no need to do so as the control and prevention work in his city was well executed.

When asked why he changed his mind， Zhang said many of his friends already had been inoculated and they only saw very minor side effects. Furthermore， the recent emergence in COVID-19 infections in the provinces of Liaoning， Anhui and Guangdong also prompted him to get the vaccination after all.

Like Zhang， quite a large number of people in countries that have started vaccination campaigns have developed such hesitancy despite vaccine production being ramped up. That lingering reluctance， according to experts， is slowing down the process to resume pre-pandemic life worldwide. Also， unequal vaccine distribution now has left many developing and underdeveloped countries more vulnerable. As a result， there is still a long way to go before the world can realize global herd immunity.

It is estimated that if the efficacy of vaccines can reach up to 80 percent， global herd immunity can be accomplished when the vaccination administration rate exceeds 70 percent.

Vaccine hesitancy

According to a recent survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau， some 28.6 million Americans， or roughly 11.5 percent of the population aged 18 and over， said they would either probably or definitely not agree to receive the vaccination against the virus. Comparing to the April peak， the average daily rate of vaccination has slumped by nearly 50 percent， according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control （CDC）.

After the initial chaos and shortage， the U.S. has now amassed a number of vaccines multiple times its population number. Nevertheless， its residentshesitation to actually go get the shot is posing challenges to the goal of herd immunity.

“Vaccine hesitancy is emerging as a key barrier to ending the COVID-19 pandemic，” Wendy King， an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health， said.

Major underlying reasons for the overall vaccine hesitancy include concerns about side effects， a belief that people do not actually need any vaccine， as well as a sense of distrust in the government， according to a recent study by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.