A fierce campaign against coronavirus vaccination continues in Armenia. Such anti-propaganda is spreading all over the world, but especially in our country, these seeds are falling on fertile ground because suspicion and blind belief in conspiracies are widespread in Armenian society. Most of our citizens are convinced that Covid-19 was invented by the dark forces to reduce the world’s population, and that the same forces want more vaccines because drug companies want to get rich. Some people say that the vaccines in our country are not very good and are waiting for the better ones to come. It fits into the notion of “neighbor’s beauty.”
It must be said that the government also contributes to this conspiratorial thinking. Instead of slowly and patiently explaining to our citizens why they should be vaccinated, the Ministry of Health is making imperative demands that are quite applicable in China, but in our country they will not work. Both the political regime and the national mentality must be taken into account. I think that it is even clear to those who have a vague understanding of the law that whether or not to allow someone to come to work or to fine them, or moreover, to fire them, is regulated not by the order of the Minister, but by law. Forcing people to either get vaccinated or take a PCR test at their own risk of being fired is not only illegal, but it does not fit into our culture. And vice versa; with special suspicion we start looking for a calf under the ox, if they force it, then they hide their real intentions.
Just as it is impossible to force people in Armenia to get vaccinated or tested by administrative methods, it is also impossible to force people to wear masks in public places. In some supermarkets such a requirement is sometimes made, but not strictly. But there is no such thing as even minimal control in public transport. I myself travel in crowded buses and minibuses and see with my own eyes that one in ten people is wearing a mask.
The way out is to be vaccinated as soon as possible, voluntarily, and consciously. Although it is well known, I would like to remind you once again that getting vaccinated does not insure against infection, but significantly reduces the risk of both infection and the complex process of the disease.
Aram Abrahamyan
