THERE are things we need to remind our government on our ongoing fight against the Covid-19. One of them is the need to continue to share valuable information as guide related to the present situation.
One friend told me that she doesn’t want to be vaccinated because she heard it could be a religious tool that would mark everyone leading to a new society as what the scriptures are saying. Though she’s not sure of it, that became the basis for her decision not to avail of the free vaccines at the moment.
Also, another close friend told me that someone who fell from the coconut in their place was forcibly attributed to the Covid-19. Though she could not tell where the information came from, that was popular in their barangay. This made her think that probably Covid-19 is not true and just a creation for the sake of business interests.
As I keep reminding people about the dangers of going out of our house, the one giving care to my 83-year-old mom told me that in our barangay, there was a report of somebody who fell ill after taking the vaccines that until now couldn’t stand and walk. The same storyline. She admitted though that the story could not be validated and news circulated that the person already recovered.
These situations led me to think that part of our understanding is to appreciate the kind of community we are in. I am reminded of the discussion in Sociology about “mechanical solidarity” that governs the mindsets of our people, leading them to believe in stories passed on from one person to another. Because of their commonality in terms of attributes, they were quick to believe such information that was not yet validated.
I remain an advocate of government agencies or authorities in charge of this pandemic, to continue to share information related to the vaccine, the coronavirus, mutations and things that government is doing to address problems at present. Those who hold information should not keep things to themselves because people want it the most.
In the absence of information, efforts to fight the pandemic would be affected. The usual report on the number of cases every day and the discovery of new variants are not enough to control hospitalizations and deaths. People should be guided on what to do.
There is no question about the way we carry the massive vaccination in our community. But there should also be other concerns that we need to look at. That is why deaths are still mounting because one reason is people don’t hold information to determine whether they have been infected with Covid-19 or not.
I am saddened to see the text exchanges shared by a friend in our group chat to remember her former colleague trying to ask a question about how much deposit a public hospital needs to be admitted as she felt she’s positive for coronavirus. In a text, a friend simply replied that they don’t ask for deposit as it is a government hospital. Right away, the patient went to the hospital and only to know that by that time, she needs to be intubated. In days’ time, the patient expired and our academic community mourned for her untimely death.
We cannot summon the past anymore and acceptance is simply what we can invoke. But it could do more when, as health facilities or government agencies in charge of delivering the care and services to our people, could go beyond the usual routine of attending people inside our hospital or office. We cannot underestimate the role that information play in this time of health emergency.
We need to understand where we are and what community we are engaged with so we can see that people truly need to be informed to avert the consequences of not having to know at all.
Let us not leave to fake news and misinformation the plight of our people at this delicate time of health emergency.