In Haiti, getting vaccinated was, at one time, a disinterested choice due to misinformation. If we take into account the latest understanding of the Haitian population regarding the vaccination campaigns and the awareness of the existence of the Covid-19 pandemic, they suggest that significant progress has been made in Haiti regarding mass vaccination. A study conducted by the Panos Institute in the departments of West and North among a sample of 446 people, during the month of March 2023, reveals that 61% of respondents claim to be vaccinated for reasons of migration. The Zoomhaitinews editorial staff collected testimonies from some of the vaccinated people who were, however, reluctant to make this decision.
At the Health Directorate West (DSO) located in the commune of Port-au-Prince, we met a couple who had just been vaccinated against Covid-19. “This decision is the result of a long consultation between me and my husband who was reluctant to take the doses,” said the woman who expressed some satisfaction after having obtained the confidence of her partner. “He was hung up on the rumors that were circulating on social networks that all people who have been vaccinated will have very serious complications that can lead to death…] As an informed person, I inquired with credible media, in the end I realized that it was all part of a vast campaign of misinformation,” adds Magdala Pierre who is preparing a trip abroad.
Nurse Marie Ysmaisson Jean, assistant to the EPI expanded vaccination program, confided that she has registered a significant number of people who want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in recent days. He believes that this is a very interesting step to reach mass vaccination. According to her, this new scheme can be explained by the satisfactory result obtained against the pandemic throughout the world with the help of vaccination. She encourages the health authorities to redouble their efforts to vaccinate people who have not yet received a single dose of vaccine against COVID-19 while the demand is felt.
The representative of the health directorate of the West Marie Ysmaisson Jean, noted that vaccination is the best protection available against the disease and mortality. She explained that it is thanks to vaccination that some diseases such as smallpox, polio, diphtheria have almost disappeared in the world. The interest of the citizens to be vaccinated pushes the doctor to launch an appeal to the authorities in order to ensure a better vaccination coverage.
In June 2022, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had required that national vaccination operations against COVID-19 be intensified to reach at least 70% of the total population considering that this can help strengthen immunity in the entire adult and adolescent population in order to reduce severe disease and mortality.
To meet certain obligations in the fight against Covid-19, the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) has launched during the month of April 2023 a vaccination campaign for people who have not yet received any dose.
This campaign concerns several regions of the country, including the departments of the West, Artibonite, South-East and North-West.
On the occasion of the launch of this campaign, we met with Dr. Joachim Emilson of the Panos Institute. During our interview, we discussed the side effects of the vaccines. “COVID-19 vaccines can cause short-term side effects. They include: fever, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, chills, among others. However, they go away on their own within a few days. He says that more serious or long-lasting vaccination-related side effects are possible but extremely rare. To argue this, he took into account the figures put forward by the World Health Organization (WHO) according to which 3.5 to 5.5 million lives are saved each year thanks to vaccination.
During the integrated routine vaccination campaign and Covid, 230,000 adults were to be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Nurse Marie Ysmaisson Jean who said that babies aged 0 to 23 months are also targeted in the routine vaccination.
Maudeline Toussaint, a 26-year-old girl, is waiting to receive her vaccine. She says she made this decision to reduce her risk of developing complications from Covid-19 and to protect everyone around her.
The observed effectiveness of vaccines stimulates the body’s natural defenses to fight diseases more quickly and effectively,” says Dr. Emilson.
The reluctance to use vaccines, presented as a barrier, is almost completely overcome by the enormous efforts made by the media to combat misinformation, but also by the incentive strategies put in place to induce behavioral changes. It is a fact that some people are affected by social norms and do not plan to get vaccinated because they think others will not. Touched by this social reality, the Ministry of Public Health and Population is playing the social influence card with the involvement of some very popular artists during awareness campaigns.
The singer of the group “Kreyol La” Jospeh Zeny Junior and the comedian Aurélie are among the Haitian influencers who encouraged citizens to get vaccinated.
For the year 2022, only 240,967 people, or 2% of the Haitian population, have been vaccinated, according to the Panos Institute, which said, moreover, observe a significant influx in vaccination centers since the beginning of the year 2023 with the appearance of the Humanitarian Parole program initiated by the administration of Joe Biden. This explains that the craze for vaccines is largely linked to migration reasons.
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