The booster dose and responsible citizens - EDITORIAL

Sri Lankans must learn what discipline is before they learn the intricacies of how Covid-19 spreads and forms new clusters. Right now the island is administering the booster dose of the Covid vaccine to people engaged in essential services. As a result people working in the health sector, as frontline workers and military establishments received the third jab, commencing November 1. 

But what alarms us is that there are still individuals who have not received a single jab; largely because their fears of receiving the vaccination were fuelled by reasoning not supported by medical science. Speculation, myth and sheer cussedness in some people have led to a boycott of the vaccine in this nation. Just for the record a self-proclaimed healer died due to the Covid virus while a self-styled holy man produced a miracle potion as an anti-Covid dose, but the latter too was seen settling for the Covid jab administered by those practising Western medicine. 

Now some people-especially the youth- have been fed with the unsubstantiated thought that the vaccination would affect fertility. There are also some among them who may have complicated health issues, hence their inability to receive the jab. 

Sri Lanka is a small country and if the jab is administered to all its citizens then we have a chance of reaching a safety zone. All this because Sri Lanka is not in a position to see their citizens being isolated or quarantined due to the nation’s economy which is on ‘life support’. 

The Sri Lankan mentality is hard to fathom. There are times, like during a natural disaster, where people volunteer to help and also donate some portions of their salaries and produce for the benefit of victims. But there are occasions, like when we are behind the wheel of our vehicles, when we find it hard to fathom why no one gives us an inch when we are looking for an opportunity to move onto the main road from a by-lane. People can be so selfish and irresponsible too!

An expatriate or a foreigner taking a drive on the busy streets of Colombo will find out that our people are not very disciplined. The more the foreigner drives on our roads the more we 
get exposed. 

At the initial stages of the pandemic administrators were trying to feed the minds of people about what to do and what not to do. What was thought to be a common cold soon turned out to be a ‘killer’ and the law enforcement officers had to use harsh methods to make people cooperate with health regulations. Sri Lankans must reach the state of thinking where they adhere to health regulations out of respect for each other and not because they would be punished by the law if they don’t. You get the jab even if your immunisation is damn strong because by doing so you don’t spread it to others; in the event you still get infected and don’t show symptoms. Now we all have come to realize that receiving the jab is the best option we can take to protect ourselves and our loved ones in our fight against Covid-19. Just imagine workers at a construction site quickly slipping on their safety helmets when they see the supervisor entering the premises and working without it when the ‘boss’ leaves the place. We see many Sri Lankans walking about with their masks hanging under their chins because no one is watching! The helmet is difficult on the head like the mask is on the part of the face where the nose and mother are. Convenience can spell disaster and bring a quick death; this lesson ought to be learned when we are alive and not from the maggots in graves. 

Those who read this editorial today are lucky to have survived a challenging period of about one and a half years where we saw several lives being snuffed out due to Covid. As we spread the word of caution around let’s continue to be responsible citizens.