Czech Republic: shocking images to boost vaccination
The Czech Ministry of Health is resorting to drastic measures to make anti-vaxxers change their minds: one campaign uses photos featuring a dead intensive care patient being lifted into a body bag, accompanied by a text saying: "He had a lot of excuses". Another image shows a coffin and the words: "She kept postponing vaccination". Can these heavy-handed tactics convince the Czechs?
The state is exposing its helplessness
Právo finds the campaign abhorrent:
“Are we really so badly off that we have to shock people with photos of helpless, naked bodies in hospital beds, or coffins being taken away from intensive care units? Photos that are frightening and alarming, but ultimately only testify to the state's helplessness? ... A healthy society should have enough strength to react sensibly and rationally without such photos. It's enough to make sure that existing rules are observed, and to take those who who are incapable of discussing the issue rationally to task.”
A legacy of communism
The low vaccination rate in the Czech Republic is a result of ignorance, says Hospodářské noviny:
“This ignorance also has to do with the concept of freedom which still prevails in post-communist societies, according to which you do what you want and don't let anyone boss you around. This is understandable to some extent, because the communist regime constantly interfered with people's lives, right down to the smallest details. ... Now we are seeing the consequences. In the Czech Republic, the percentage of people who are getting vaccinated not only for their own protection but also for that of others is significantly lower than in Western Europe.”