Don’t complain if action taken, unvaccinated teachers told
KUCHING: Teachers who still refuse to get vaccinated by Nov 1 have no cause to argue the disciplinary action taken against them, opines Adam Prakash. “I think as government servants, everybody, and they include teachers, should abide by any directives from the Public Service Commission,” said the Sarawak Teachers Union president. “These teachers have been […]
Immediate transfer for unvaxxed teachers
SEMARIANG: Immediate disciplinary action will be taken against teachers who continue to refuse Covid-19 vaccinations before Nov 1. “They will be immediately transferred,” said Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin. He added that the ministry had no choice because their action could pose great risk to others at the school. “This primarily concerns those teaching […]
NGOs to change minds of anti-vax Penans
MIRI: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will be roped in to convince anti-vaccine Penans in Ulu Baram to get vaccinated against Covid-19. The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) will also enlist the help of elected representatives in the area. Said Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who heads SDMC: “We now have a ready supply of the CanSino […]
Gov’t has not made decision to make Covid-19 vaccination compulsory
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has not made a decision to make Covid-19 vaccination compulsory, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. He said, however, those who had not taken the vaccine injections were encouraged to do so to enjoy various privileges, including able to return to their hometowns. “Even for matters of worship such […]
Encourage anti-vaxxers, beware of mental health crisis
KUCHING: Alliance For Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye is of the opinion that it is not necessary to make Covid-19 vaccines compulsory. Noting that every eligible population must be inoculated, he said it would be better to take an approach of convincing the people particularly those who are eligible but do not […]
Get ‘em vaxxed, whatever it takes
KUCHING: Teachers should make good use of their skills training for the benefit of our school children, said Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Youth members. “Although we support the decision made by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to allocate unvaccinated teachers to other tasks so as not to risk the children, it would actually be a […]
Anti-vaxxer teachers: Refusal a shocker to parents
KUCHING: The pandemic has had an adverse impact on almost every aspect of life, causing global economies to stall, altering how we work and interact with our loved ones, and straining healthcare systems to their breaking point. To help fight the virus, the Malaysian government has been working to obtain as many vaccines as possible […]
Get influencers to promote vaccination
SHAH ALAM: To counter misinformation from anti-vaxxers, we need to mobilise influential people as well as social media influencers to promote vaccination, say psychologists. SOLS Health-Thrive WellResearch and Advocacy director, Dr Arman Rashid said we have to speak the same language as anti-vaxxers in reaching out to the wider society. “Studies show those who believe in fake news online are more likely to be persuaded by influencers than experts, which means we need influencers to carry the scientific evidence even though they may not be experts themselves. “Misinformation about vaccines from anti-vaxxers is not new but has gained momentum with their movement growing online and it is easy for some individuals to believe in fake news based on reading a blog or watching a video, which is why digital literacy is important amongst all age groups,” he said. An actor as well as an influencer, Beto Kusyairy, 41, said Malaysians should pay attention to what the experts have to say regarding Covid-19, rather than forwarded texts on WhatsApp and Telegram, that are able to skew their perception towards the fatal virus. We have experts in their respective fields. Doctors, religious scholars or muftis in Malaysia and around the world have recommended getting the vaccine. “So who are they (antivaxxers) to go against these experts? You just have to think logically,” he said when contacted by Bernama. Beto Kusyairy who has over 642,000 followers on Instagram and had taken his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at Universiti Malaya vaccination centre (PPV) six days ago, was seen urging others to do so on his Instagram and Facebook accounts. Recently, de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan had reportedly said that anti-vaccination groups could risk action under Sedition Act 1948 if found inciting people against the Covid-19 vaccine. Takiyuddin said action could also be taken under other existing laws, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, as well as the Emergency Ordinance 2021. Meanwhile, Arman said in psychology terms, proclaiming vaccines as unsafe by ignoring scientific evidence has been termed as the ‘Dunning-Kruger’ effect and this happens when individuals overestimate what they know and underestimate what they don’t know, leading to strongly held views despite science saying otherwise. “Research from a consortium of United States (US) universities found the Dunning-Kruger effect plays an important role in false information and propaganda against vaccinations,” he said adding that Prof David Dunning of Michigan University was the one who coined the term that warns about the harmful consequences of ignorance as this is a form of cognitive bias ignoring gaps in our knowledge and expertise. In the case of social media, Arman said the Dunning-Kruger effect gets further amplified as isolated anti-vaxxers get a disproportionate voice online. “They feel vindicated by ‘likes’ endorsing opinions lacking scientific evidence, which makes them more and more oblivious about their knowledge gaps,” he said. Arman said in the age of self-proclaimed online experts, we see this effect more and more amongst anti-vaxxers as they not only overestimate themselves but also underestimate experts. He said social media serves as a powerful tool for anti-vaxxers to project themselves as experts, particularly in an age when anyone can be a specialist online, which leads to self-proclaimed experts who lack any scientific expertise about vaccines, spreading misinformation. “In most cases, anti-vaxxers seek to influence others as a form of validation and endorsement of their isolated views that they know have been predominantly rejected by mainstream society. They are often motivated by conspiracy theories, particularly about geopolitical powers and pharmaceutical companies,” said Arman. Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia Teaching Hospital (HPUPM) Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Medicine and Psychiatry lecturer Dr Ruziana Masiran said the existence of this anti-vaccine group started with the vaccine for smallpox in 1800. Ruziana is in agreement with Dr Arman’s view that their distrust toward the vaccine is because they do not understand or doubt the science or ingredients in the vaccine. She said the latest studies by Murphy et al. (2021) in the United Kingdom and Ireland, published in the leading journal ‘Nature’ found that those who rejected the Covid-19 vaccine received less information about the pandemic from authoritative sources. “The distrust has increased because there is a law that requires children to be vaccinated to enable them to attend public schools. “Unfortunately, the decision of this group of people not to vaccinate themselves or their children has contributed to the re-emergence of infectious diseases that have been or almost eradicated,” she said citing that measles was declared eliminated in 2002 but there was a resurgence in 2014. – Bernama
Thumbs up for action against anti-vaxxers
By Nurin Yusrina KUCHING: Anti-vaxxers are being watched by the government for their anti-vaccine propaganda. Members of the public welcome a suggestion by the federal government to take action against anti-vaxxers. They said anti-vaxxers endangered the safety and health of the people by influencing them to refuse the Covid-19 vaccines. They agreed that it was […]
Government mulls legal action against anti-vaxxers
By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz KUALA LUMPUR: The government is mulling the idea of taking legal action against the anti-vaccine group in the country if they were found to have incited public opinion against the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government had, in fact, asked the Covid-19 Vaccine […]
