Jab on your mind?

The buzz word that you hear from everyone lately is — 'vaccination'. These days the small talk, when you meet someone immediately, jumps from your opinion on the vaccine to the status of whether you have taken it or will take it when offered. The vaccination has as many takers as haters or perhaps a lot of believers and non-believers too.

Let us take a quick peep into the minds of the people when it comes to this new global phenomenon of mass vaccination drive.

Vaccine anxiety

Vaccine worries or anxiety is fairly evident amidst the masses. The root cause of this lies in the "fear of the unknown", "a negative prediction" and often the "catastrophic misinterpretation of physical symptoms like pain, fever, chills etc."

One way to tackle this head-on is to not pay heed to the viral fake messages, google sprees or first-hand experiences of others. Go for fact-checking from the correct valid sources and make a risk-benefit analysis of your own.

Vaccine guilt

A phenomenon noted amidst those who become eligible before others for taking the jab. Many individuals may qualify to meet the criteria due to their occupation, or health status but still, have loved ones back home who despite needing it as badly haven't made the cut for some reasons. Many feel guilty that they are "safer" while the rest of the world is still battling it out. Some may even feel they don't deserve the priority for the vaccine and that other's needs should take priority over theirs. Acknowledge you are struggling with these feelings, process them and let it go.

Vaccination shaming

Another popular occurrence is shaming and interrogating individuals about how they made the cut for the vaccine even though they are relatively younger. A few social media celebrities have been shamed for getting the jab out of line and have been believed to have "cheated" to get it.

While some make the cut for their seropositive status (HIV, Hepatitis), a few have made the cut for their extremely high BMI, attracting further shame from others.

Shaming refusal

Perhaps you are the big chunk of the society that is against the vaccination and doesn't "believe it works". Your hesitation is your opinion which you are entitled to. If you have received a stink eye from a fellow friend or acquaintance, then you have been shamed for the refusal.

Vaccine comparison

"Which one did you get?" A popular question in our country where centres get random groups of vaccines leading to a dialogue about who got "the better vaccine".

Fear, paranoia and conspiracy theories

From the microchip theory, impotence claims to 5G theories, our world has seen enough claims to make a sane person feel paranoid. The mass hysteria that stems from the viral messages, social media posts and videos causes mistrust and fear amidst the masses.

The mood state effect

Your mood state on the day of taking the jab can render more or less immunity to you.

Psychoneuroimmunology shows that our psychological state can shape the development of protective antibodies. Try to take the vaccine with a smile, not only for the selfies but with a positive mindset.

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