Vaccinated

I hadn’t walked two blocks from our house when I saw it—a small gathering of people, some in white lab coats, gathered at a small table under the mango tree behind the fish sellers.  A privacy screen was off to the left by a doorway to a shop.  A couple blocks from the nearest clinic. No signs or placards. Was this it?  Were they doing vaccinations right here?  I asked someone standing around, and sure enough, the COVID vaccination station would be open until noon.  It was 10am.  Plenty of time to contact the team, get our passports, and get in line to receive the vaccine.

The unmarked table under the mango tree

The Islands are poor and COVID vaccination programs are all thanks to the charity and goodwill of other nations.  The vaccine available to us is from China.  We had heard a few weeks ago that the islands would be receiving these vaccines, but whether or not they would actually made available was a mystery.  Donations to the islands have a way of turning up “lost” because of corruption or mismanaged to the point of heartbreak.  But by some miracle, the vaccine was there, ready to be distributed, administered and carefully documented (at least by island standards).  Moreover it was free!  

By 11:30 that morning most of our team had been vaccinated.  It took almost no time at all.  A quick jab in the arm and instructions to come back in one month.  We took many celebratory pictures and posted them on facebook.  

That is when the other part of this story begins.  It’s funny because islanders are pretty good about getting their infants vaccinated.  There are WHO programs that help this to happen, they are relatively well run and mostly free.  But as soon as people get a little older, life gets more complicated.  Just like the rest of the world, it seems that there are number of reasons why most islanders—the vast majority—are refusing to get vaccinated.

Waiting for paperwork

They don’t like shots!  Kids are threatened with shots in the elementary schools.  “If you don’t behave, the doctor will come and give you a shot,” the teachers say.  It was effective in traumatizing our oldest son and a whole generation of kids.  In fact, a rumor of forced vaccination set off city-wide panic and isolated cases of mob violence a couple months ago.  They are afraid of shots!

Also, they’ve been taken advantage of before—guinea pigs for China.  It is well known that Africa has often been the test lab for new drug initiatives.  The islands are no exception.  China carried out malaria eradication tests on the island, which turned out to be effective, but no one knows if corners were cut or if safety standards were considered or maintained.  Despite the success of the program, people don’t like being asked to take medicine in an experimental undertaking.   It doesn’t matter if the Chinese COVID vaccine has been well-tested and is being used in countries all over the world—islanders are skeptical.  “They’re probably trying it out here before they use it on their own people” is the common refrain.  Then they look at me knowingly as if they expect me to sprout a third arm out of my head or to drop dead at their feet…”side-effects”.

But the biggest and least surprising blow to the success of the vaccination program is the lack of trust in the government.  There is such thorough distrust of the government system, it seems impossible that they could get something right, do something for the good of the people, or not have an ulterior motive.   No, people are convinced that nothing—nothing good can come from the government.  

Trying to show people it's a good thing

The sad flip side is,  in a way this works to our advantage.  The islands did not receive a great number of vaccines.  The chances of us getting a second dose would be quite slim if everyone was being vaccinated.  But since the numbers are so small, it just might mean we will be able to return for that second dose.  But this selfish bright side does little to assuage the fears of the possibility of another wave of COVID in the future, where all those who have not been vaccinated will get sick again, and some of them will die.  So what can we do?  We set a good example, and post on island social media.  We encourage people to go out and do it.  We educate.  But at the end of the day, as the old saying goes: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him agree to an injection.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
One of the newly recorded songs was turned into a music video and no sooner was it done then it was being shared to large groups on social media. May it be a blessing! Our teammate’s friend with the dreams now embraced the idea that they came from God and even shared about her dreams with her mom (who called them a blessing)! May it lead to opportunities to share with that whole family.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
This coming Thursday we will be hosting a break-the-fast meal for island brothers and sisters and their families. There could be over 70 people if they all came with their kids. Pray that we would be prepared for however many come. Pray that this event would help encourage us all, deepen relationships and build unity. The event will also include concentrated prayer for the islands. May the prayers grow our faiths and fight the darkness. Many on our team have been hit by bad allergies lately— pray for relief. Three of our team (including our daughter) have birthdays this week— pray that they could have fun days and feel encouraged, loved and appreciated (it is hard to celebrate well during the month of fasting). Continue to remember our friends in Chad which is still very unstable after the death of the president there.