Many still vaccine hesitant, misinformed on COVID-19, Kurdish health official says
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still many people in the Kurdistan Region who do not accept the severity of the virus or understand the pressing need to be vaccinated, the region’s top health official said Monday.
In a press conference in Erbil, Saman Barzinji warned of the sharply rising rate of COVID-19 infections in the region, which recorded almost 2,000 cases on Monday.
“There are still a great number of people that do not believe in the danger of the pandemic, testing, and the vaccines against it,” Barzinji said, responding to a question from a reporter about the ongoing vaccination drive.
Despite medical authorities’ continuous campaigns, misinformation about the pandemic is still prevalent, fueled by unfounded theories on the origin of the virus and downplaying the risks of infection.
The Kurdish Region began its inoculation drive in early March, when it rolled out the first doses of the Chinese Sinopahrm vaccine to healthcare workers.
Recently, health officials said that the vaccine uptake had improved as more than 400,000 people received at least their first dose of one of the available jabs.
In the early days of the rollout, the Kurdistan Region experienced a high amount of vaccine hesitancy, which forced the government to launch public campaigns to encourage vaccination.
Barzinji also warned Monday that the actual COVID-19 infection figures are likely to be higher than what healthcare workers have recorded at testing centers.