‘Myths about Covid-19 made taking mitigation steps problematic in Pakistan’

The Department of Microbiology, Karachi University (KU), and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) concluded a two-day long workshop titled ‘Corona Myth Buster’ recently.

Dr Sadia Saeed of the LSHTM said there was a need to educate the people of Pakistan about Covid-19 as a lot of myths were spread about the virus and its vaccinations and the authorities had to face problems in taking mitigation measures against the virus. There was a need to change the public’s perception at the grassroots level by educating them about the deadly virus and the importance of vaccination and social distance to combat the epidemic situation.

She said due to the lack of awareness, the coronavirus was not being taken seriously in Pakistan. We all should work in this regard. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging each other to get vaccinated against Covid-19, people were spreading false news that the vaccine was harmful. A solution to any kind of ambiguity is inevitable.

Dr Urooj Zafar of the KU said that holding such awareness workshops was the need of the hour because without awareness we could not control such epidemics. The participants of the workshop were asked to fill out questionnaires related to coronavirus which would be sent to the Covid-19 experts. Students were shown scientific videos to convince them that the vaccines were safe for humans.