The COVID Vaccine: is it the Beginning of the End?

Abstract

Does the roll out of the vaccine against the Novel Corona Virus mark the beginning of the end of this pandemic, given the promising results with respect to the efficacy and safety of the available vaccines? (1,2) The answer to this rather simplistic question is not so straightforward. The bitter fight against this deadly virus has a long way to go. The reasons for this are multiple. The buzz and the excitement surrounding the newly developed vaccines against COVID-19 are tempered, in the public's mindscape, with apprehension about their efficacy and adverse effects.The apprehension stems primarily from the bombardment of information, mostly unverified, that we are all subjected to, on the social media platforms. In fact, the present pandemic differs from the ones which have ravaged the mankind in the past, in one vital aspect, that is, the ever increasing reach of the social media. Unfortunately, the dynamics of social media are quite different from the dynamics of propagating accurate knowledge. This is clearly evident from the facts that even the savviest internet users get attracted by flamboyant headlines with sensational content generating more user engagement. As a result of the content personalization algorithms, which the companies operating these platforms employ, it is possible to repeatedly expose people to the same content even on the basis of disinformation.It is for this very reason that the social media accounts held by the so-called "Anti-vaxxers" have increased their following by a whopping 7.8 million people ever since the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in November 2019. (3) As much as 31 million