Food for thought: The chosen ones... for the vaccine

https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-03-19/spain-will-restart-astrazeneca-shots-next-week-after-european-medicines-agency-finds-vaccine-effective-and-safe.html

Spain will restart Covid-19 vaccinations using the Oxford-AstraZeneca medication from Wednesday of next week. That was the unanimous decision taken yesterday by the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS), which brings together the central Health Ministry and the country’s regional healthcare chiefs. The move came after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) concluded that the vaccine was safe after concerns were raised across the European Union (EU) due to the detection of cases of blood clots after its administration.

One of the problems that some experts now fear once the use of AstraZeneca is restarted is a rejection of the vaccine among the population. José María Martín Moreno, a doctor in epidemiology and public health from Harvard University, believes that a situation of “mistrust” has been created with “confusing” communication. “The population is scared that this vaccine could be dangerous and there has not been a unified response from European countries at the time for action. For citizens, this creates total confusion, and they don’t know what they should believe,” he explains.

Today the European Commission is proposing to create a Digital Green Certificate to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Digital Green Certificate will be a proof that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, received a negative test result or recovered from COVID-19. It will be available, free of charge, in digital or paper format. It will include a QR code to ensure security and authenticity of the certificate. The Commission will build a gateway to ensure all certificates can be verified across the EU, and support Member States in the technical implementation of certificates. Member States remain responsible to decide which public health restrictions can be waived for travellers but will have to apply such waivers in the same way to travellers holding a Digital Green Certificate.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_1181

To Vaccinate or Not: The Controversy:

Arguments FOR the Vaccine

• Effectiveness
• Simplicity 
• Minimal Cost 
• Herd Immunity 
• Worldwide Epidemics 
• Alarming Costs of Non-Vaccination

Vaccine Resistance

• Against Religious Values
• Threat to Individual Freedom
• Mistrust of Medicine
• Fear of Negative Effects on the Body

An opinion paragraph