Vaccine Hesitancy: When Political Miscommunication Replaces Scientific Benefit/Risk Assessment

Abstract

Around the world, scientists, manufacturers and governments jumped into the race to develop a vaccine to combat COVID-19 and its associated lockdowns. A global response was required since defeating the pandemic requires global alignment. The availability of COVID-19 vaccines has always been a major concern for the WHO particularly in low and middle-income countries. While the vaccine development programs moved successfully forward, another problem, vaccine hesitancy, became a worrying factor in the movement towards herd immunity in many countries. Several factors contribute to this predicament.