Novak Djokovic, the world’s number one men’s tennis player, has recently lost a battle against the Australian government after having his visa canceled when he was to play in the Australian Open. The Australian government has strict rules regarding the unvaccinated, and Djokovic had to comply or be sent home. He stuck to his convictions and chose the latter. Now, both the French the Spanish governments have already stated if Djokovic wants to play in their respective tournaments, he will have to be vaccinated. Their house, their rules.
Djokovic isn’t the first high-profile athlete to reject vaccination and undergo sanctions. Kyrie Irving, an NBA basketball star is also against being vaccinated. He was even quoted as saying he “was conducting his research". I wonder how that is working out for him. The NBA has allowed him to play despite being unvaccinated, but he will not be allowed to play in New York, his home court --he is a player of the Brooklyn Nets-- because of the city’s vaccine mandate on indoor spaces. Around 97% of the NBA players in the league are fully vaccinated so Irving is in the minority. He was only allowed to play because of pushback by the NBA players union.
So, what to do about these staunch anti-vaxxers? Scientists and health experts have warned if there is a large percentage of people all over the world who remain unvaccinated, the Omicron variant may not be the last mutation the coronavirus will undergo. Africa remains almost 85% unvaccinated. We are now seeing protests by anti-vaxxers in developed countries against vaccine mandates and vaccine identification cards which would allow them access into certain places such as restaurants and the like. Many countries seem to have their vaccination programs stalled because of anti-vaxxers and all their misinformation. Like it or not, some believe them along with all those conspiracy theorists regarding both the coronavirus and the vaccine.
We also have our fair share of those unwilling to get the shots. President Duterte has resorted to his familiar threats against the unvaccinated while some presidential candidates are offering differing views on how to deal with them. Positive reinforcements, incentives, and what have you. But I have heard from those unwilling to get vaccinated. In the US, there is a growing sentiment of apathy towards the unvaccinated. I find it ridiculous that anti-vaxxers assert rights and freedoms but cannot allow those who choose to get vaccinated the same rights and freedoms.
At least we can say the government is doing everything it can to get more and more people vaccinated. It is no longer a shortage of vaccines but more on logistics and manpower. But more is still needed to convince those who are just ignorant of the safety and efficacy of vaccines.