COVID-19 inoculation is “like any other vaccine,” a UN Women staff member tells Syrian refugee women she cares for in camps in Jordan, as she tries to combat misinformation and false rumours and spikes in infection.
Hadeel Al-Zoubi is a senior camp attendant who works in two camps (Za’atari and Azraq) that house Syrians who have fled their war-torn country. She explains how she fought against incorrect information about COVID-19, which helped her triumph over it. Own and others’ vaccine hesitation.
“When the coronavirus first hit, everyone feared this unknown pandemic. We didn’t know what to expect, especially in the era of lockdown when many other people started working remotely. As a frontline employee in refugee camps, I have supported over three hundred vulnerable women on a weekly basis.
I saw the burden of confinement gradually expanding for them, especially for mothers. I was constantly worried about being the one transmitting the virus to women or inflaming myself.
It wasn’t until 2021 that I felt relief, when the government announced that vaccines would be available. However, at first, I hesitated to get the vaccine.
At that time a lot of false data was spread. I started reading more about it, researching. After a consultation arranged through the workplace and the WHO, where a doctor explained the main clinical facts, I set out to get vaccinated.
My mother didn’t need to get vaccinated because she had heard that it would affect her DNA in some way. Misinformation was circulating suggesting it could replace a person’s skin color or have a negative effect on the DNA of children born to vaccinated mothers.
However, when my mom saw me getting vaccinated, she asked me to register her on the platform as well. I encouraged my circle of family members and our beneficiaries to get vaccinated, setting an example and helping them throughout the online registration.
After completing two-way communication education, I feel I now have access to the right equipment and resources to fight fake news at this critical time. Percentage of verified data on COVID-19 and the vaccine through our WhatsApp teams with registered Syrian refugee women. at UN Women’s Oasis centres in refugee camps. They provide psychosocial support and livelihood opportunities for women for economic empowerment, through a series of projects that add education in sewing and hairdressing and other education and childcare opportunities.
Women’s centers were vital because they also provided a virtual space to share accurate data from reliable resources about the pandemic. They complemented a crusade by the Ministry of Health to raise awareness about COVID-19 and our own awareness materials.
The women I interacted with definitely answered and asked a lot of questions about the other vaccines available, side effects imaginable, and what to expect after being vaccinated. I think they wanted to understand the facts and see how effective vaccines are.
I tell the women I serve that the COVID-19 vaccine is just like any other vaccine we take in our lifetime. Vaccination is imperative to defeat the pandemic and we want to be aware of the fake news and incorrect information spreading around us. While I’m less worried about the virus, I stay alert by practicing social distancing, putting on my mask, and sanitizing my hands. “
The Manguinhos Ballet, named after its favela in Rio de Janeiro, returns to the level after a long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has as interpreters 250 young people and adolescents from the favela. The ballet organization provides social assistance in a network where poverty, hunger and teenage pregnancy are ongoing problems.
The pandemic has put many other people to the test, and news hounds are no exception. The coronavirus has waged war not only against the lives and well-being of others, but has also generated countless deceptions and clinical lies.
The pandemic has shown how vital it is that the right of access to data is reliable and that reliable and accurate data is freely available for government and citizen decision-making – a win-win situation.