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Coronavirus pandemic

WHO concerned about crisis of confidence in COVID vaccination worldwide

The envoy listed four main reasons that have an effect on credibility

© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. The World Health Organization (WHO) observes a crisis of confidence in coronavirus vaccination worldwide, and if this vaccination fails, it will have a catastrophic impact on other immunization programs, Melita Vujnovic, WHO’s Russia representative, said on Friday at a video conference held as part of the 5th National Assembly titled Protected Generation.

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"What we can see all over the world now is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis of confidence between the population and the state," Vujnovic said. "We are alarmed since if coronavirus vaccination fails worldwide, it will also have a catastrophic effect on all the other immunization programs. Therefore, we will lose the most important intervention that allows us to combat infectious diseases."

Vujnovic listed four main reasons that have an effect on credibility. In her opinion, the first and most important one is direct communication with the population. The second one is a source of information through which opinions are formed. Thirdly, it is the environment and finally, the example of authorities, government agencies and health professionals. According to her, people will have more trust in vaccinations once they see with their own eyes that both doctors and politicians undergo this procedure.

Vujnovic pointed to the need to categorize the population to find out which group lacks trust and to conduct, alongside anthropologists, a point-by-point analysis of the cultural and socioeconomic characteristics of that population. "There are special programs that will help our medical staff and everyone else to boost trust," she added.

Vujnovic also mentioned "Russia’s solid immunization plan."

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