Goa: Cancer survivors, lactating moms help others beat vaccine hesitancy

MARGAO: With a focus on reducing deaths and hospitalisations due to Covid-19, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) has begun combatting vaccine hesitancy via social media.
The group is gathering pictures of vaccine beneficiaries from high risk categories such as cancer survivors and patients with heart condition and influencers. These are then being circulated to encourage others to get inoculated.
‘Be Responsible’ and ‘get vaccinated’ messages accompany the posters of an 85-year-old heart patient and cancer survivor on blood thinners, a lactating mother and several others, including a lecturer at Carmel College, a Redemptorist priest, a cyclist from the Xaxti Riders group, etc, all of whom have taken the vaccine.
“We try to put up posters of those with comorbidities and lactating mothers to tell people that the vaccine is for this group of people too and that one shouldn’t stay away just because of comorbidities. Once you get a goahead from your doctor, please take the vaccine,” one member said.
The group is also getting brooches made, which vaccine beneficiaries can wear with pride at their work place to announce their status. “The whole idea is to reduce mortalities and hospitalisation,” said association president Dr Rita Vas. The association wants people to be inspired by vaccine beneficiaries from the high risk categories. “The second wave is fatal and infectious and the only option is to get vaccinated,” she said.
Ambassadors, the kind that are appointed during elections, have been missing from the vaccination campaign. The association is trying to fill this gap by finding leaders and influencers across sections of society. “We cannot be wearing a mask throughout our life. The only other solution is to get vaccinated,” she said.