Political jabs: should public figures get vaccinated first to reassure the public?

“Vaccines don’t save lives. Vaccinations save lives”.

This concept, promoted recently by Prof Koleka Mlisana, who is a manager at the National Health Laboratory Services, outlines the dilemma facing many countries during the pandemic: how to get the public on board with the vaccination programme.

While different groups grapple with how best to spread accurate information as SA awaits the start of the vaccine rollout, some are advocating for public officials to be first in line to set a positive example.

But in countries that have received the vaccination before us, such campaigns have had a dual reaction.

Those with power and influence have to be very careful with statements they make if they are not based on science.

—  African Alliance head Tian Johnson

Tian Johnson, head of health advocacy group African Alliance which hosted a vaccine awareness webinar on Monday, said: “It is very valuable to have public officials vaccinated in public — but then there’s the backlash of people saying they got early access”.

African Alliance recently filed a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission against chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng for his public remarks that Covid-19 vaccines are the work of the devil.

The complaint was then referred to the Judicial Conduct Committee.

Says Johnson: “Those with power and influence have to be very careful with statements they make if they are not based on science.”

Earlier this month, just days before being sworn in as the president of the US, Joe Biden went public with his second shot and said: “Ready, steady, go.”

He said it was to raise awareness and to show his belief in the safety of the vaccines.

This came three weeks after he received his first dose, which prompted heated debate that could ignite in SA too, as we wait for the rollout of vaccines.

The Los Angeles Times reported “there are practical imperatives for political leaders to be vaccinated early”, not the least of which was “helping build public confidence in the vaccine”, but that “there are also tricky optics for politicians to navigate”.

Top among those is that, with vaccine supplies “still exceedingly limited”, members of the public cry foul over politicians jumping the queue.

Diantha Pillay, a programme manager at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, outlined the lived experience of many South Africans who have been at high risk of exposure since the onset of the pandemic, and who should be provided with accurate information on the vaccines.

Imagine a person who “lives in an overcrowded space, and has lack of access to water and sanitation. That person might live with children of school-going age. In the house there is no space for social distancing.”

Add to that, she said, “the person’s employment status — perhaps the environment is higher risk for transmission, while the person also has no access to private transport and must use taxis”.

She said many South Africans board overcrowded taxis to get to work to earn a living, and share a house with grandchildren who attend school where there are about 35 in the class.

“Many still rely on communal ablution facilities too ... So as you can see, at any point in time from boarding a taxi in the early morning, to being at home in the evening with family, many people are at risk of exposure.”

Wits professor Glenda Gray, who is head of the SA Medical Research Council, said vaccines against Covid-19 in SA will not only benefit the individual, but will also have a “public health benefit by reducing hospitalisations and the demand for space in ICUs”.

She said vaccines would also have “economic importance” because “if we can immunise the workforce, we can start to open up the economy” properly again.

Finally, she said, the public should consider the “scholastic benefits”.

“The sooner we can get our children back to school and protect the education system as a whole, the better for everyone. This also has an impact on the future economy of our country.”