Responsibility for one's own and others' health: Get vaccinated today

By Amra Vrabac

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In just a few days, one million vaccines against Covid 19 have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On Friday, August 6, 500,000 Chinese Sinopharm vaccines purchased by the FBiH Government were delivered, and today 500,000 AstraZeneca vaccines, a donation from Austria, will be officially handed over.

With this quantity of vaccines and the already vaccinated population, BiH could reach 50 percent vaccination if these vaccines were used in the next ten days, which would significantly reduce the possible consequences of the expected new wave of coronavirus.

Mass vaccination, which has been available in Sarajevo since July 30, has shown that we have many citizens who would virtually get vaccinated, but do not do so when they have a real opportunity. For months, the authorities have been criticized for the lack of vaccines, and donations are called alms, even though they are valid vaccines with which healthcare workers, police, the elderly population over 65, and cancer patients have been vaccinated.

Although many see the reasons for the low turnout for vaccination in the fact that only the AstraZeneca vaccine is offered, which was unfairly assessed as "harmful" without any real scientific basis, as well as the lack of a campaign promoting vaccination, these are still insufficient reasons to endanger your own and others' health.  

The country that has vaccinated its population the most with AstraZeneca is Great Britain, which has over 54 percent of its citizens vaccinated with both doses, and almost 70 percent with one dose.

While AstraZeneca faced a negative campaign for months about its alleged harmfulness, which slowed down the vaccination process itself, and countries opted for other manufacturers, it has been shown that there is no basis for the AstraZeneca vaccine being harmful to citizens. In BiH, about 700 contraindications have been reported after vaccination, but these are temporary symptoms. As confirmed by the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH, only one death has been reported of a person vaccinated with Sinovac, but the connection between vaccination and the death is still being determined.

Although it is true that BiH was without large quantities of vaccines for a long time, it is now clearer that BiH citizens do not have enough awareness of the importance of vaccination. As in many cases before, we are all experts, epidemiologists, and immunologists on social media, but when it comes to showing responsibility for our own health and the health of people around us and getting vaccinated, we suddenly become quiet. What now? We can no longer criticize the authorities because there are vaccines, but now we can say there was no campaign. And that is true, but it cannot be an excuse. At least everything is available today, and with a few clicks, you can find out everything you are interested in about vaccines. In the end, everyone will bear their burden of whether or not they should have been vaccinated, but no one has the right to say that there are no vaccines anymore.

With donations that will arrive in the coming days, the entire population over 18 years of age in BiH can be vaccinated.

Where the authorities failed is the insufficient number of vaccination points, especially in the capital of BiH. Having only one location for mass vaccination in a city of 350,000 inhabitants is a poor assessment. But it cannot be an excuse, as we witness the empty Zetra stadium, but in any case, citizens need to be encouraged to get vaccinated. Perhaps try with another point in another part of the city.

While citizens are waiting for a vaccine other than AstraZeneca, the delta variant is approaching, and the number of infected people is slowly increasing.

Perhaps at one point, you will not have time to wait. Take advantage of the opportunity and get vaccinated today.