A section of population feels that the jab drive violates human rights and personal freedom

Strangely, the exit of Novak Djokovic from Australia saw more anti-vaxxers getting angry than tennis fans. An anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine group quickly surfaced in Australia wondering if the tennis great was the “beacon of hope” to lead the fight against vaccination. Such segments of population exist across the world today. To them, it is not a question of an unvaccinated person posing a risk to oneself and family and friends and colleagues. Refusal to vaccinate is for them a political issue, largely the right-wing variety. Western anti-vaxxers link their hesitation to growing distrust in Government institutions and policies. People’s frustration has generally mounted since 2020 because of lockdowns and restrictions turning their routines topsy-turvy. Their frustration often extends to vaccination campaigns to control the transmission of the Coronavirus. It is also true, however, that absence of scientific rigour in a few past cases of inoculation has made some Europeans wary of public health programmes. The pro-Djokovic camp in Turkey is an anti-vaccination party that fears vaccination guidelines violate human rights and personal freedom. A party in Austria is gaining popularity for a similar stand. In the United States, the Republicans are against vaccination, in contrast to the Democrats. Some countries like Russia, vexed with the anti-vaccination politics, want to bring in a QR code system to prevent the unvaccinated from accessing public places. France has a Government divided on the issue. President Emmanuel Macron raised a storm by making public his displeasure against the anti-vaxxers.

But his Sports Minister strangely said he would allow an unvaccinated Djokovic to play in the French Open. The vaccination drive is now stuck in a political row. India is not unaffected by the global movement. The opinion is sharply divided on Djokovic’s stand. The Indian Government, for the first time, clarified its stand when it told the Supreme Court that “no person can be forced to be vaccinated against their wishes”. It will also not make it mandatory to carry vaccination certificates for any purpose. The statement comes in the wake of some States and private businesses wanting to disincentivise people refusing to get vaccinated. To be sure, the unvaccinated are a risk to themselves and others. But one should notice a fundamental difference between the anti-vaxxers in India and the west. The Indians in this group are vaccine-hesitant, not anti-vaccination as such. They are not, as of date, part of a political movement like in Europe. Concerns of safety, side effects, rushed vaccine approvals, quick human trials and scientific scepticism are some of the factors that hold them from taking the vaccine. Hesitancy has reduced where their concerns have been redressed. The sudden onslaught of the highly transmissible Omicron variant made them quickly change their mind about vaccination. The priority is a trust-building national campaign to personally reach out to the unvaccinated. Prefer reason over a rule.