Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of leading socio-religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir has appealed to the people in the Union Territory to take COVID-19 jabs, saying the effectiveness of the vaccination as a means of protection from the disease is well established. The amalgam expressed serious concern that many people, especially in Srinagar, are reluctant to vaccine hence putting their lives, the lives of their family members and that of the community at large, at great risk. Giving details, it said that in Srinagar, out of seven lakh people who are 18 years and above, only approximately 2,90,000 have been vaccinated which is less than even 50 percent. Appealing people to shun the unreasonable vaccine hesitancy, the MMU has stressed that vaccination is the only way to defeat the pandemic and thus ensure that lives are saved and ensure that the normal life in terms of business, education, religion and travel that has been severely curtailed by the pandemic is resumed. The organization has also appealed the people to observe all Covid-19 related SOPs.
The statement of MMU is a welcome one and has come at an appropriate time. The UT administration has already launched aggressive vaccination drive and the health workers are even traveling to far off places to ensure that all the people in eligible age group are vaccinated. The UT administration has ensured sufficient stocks of the vaccines and if all goes well and people cooperate fully, the UT may achieve 100 vaccination target of above 45 age group by the end of June or middle of July. To make the campaign successful, the religious and social leaders have to play a big role as they enjoy certain degree of influence in the society. In this backdrop, the appeal made by the MMU is more than welcome and will undoubtedly help in making the vaccination campaign a great success.
People need to understand that experts have predicted a third wave of Covid-19 which is supposed to be more severe than the second wave. However, the experts believe that if people get vaccinated on large scale this will not only reduce its severity and impact of the third wave but there is every likelihood that it may even prevent occurrence of this wave. For that it is necessary that hundred per cent people in the eligible age group are vaccinated. The vaccines would increase the defence mechanism against new infection in the body and nullify chances of catching virus again, say the experts. While there are apprehensions that the third wave may target children, the experts believe that if all the adults in a family get vaccinated, the chances of children getting infected is highly unlikely as vaccinated parents become a shield for the children.
Heeding the counsel of health experts and also the organizations like MMU, people of the Union Territory should voluntarily come forward to get the jab. At the moment, the vaccination is the only method available with humans to fight the spread of Covid-19 besides strict adherence to Covid related SOPs. Word of caution for those who get vaccinated, the vaccination is no license to be complacent. Even after getting vaccinated, SOPs are to be followed and no compromise should be made on wearing face masks and maintaining social distance.
