False News against Inoculation Increases

Civil society says it has influenced citizens' reluctance to be immune to the type of Astra-Zeneca vaccine. However, they stress that there has been no awareness campaign from the Ministry of Health.

UP's communications science professor Dren Grguri claims there were large numbers of dezinforms that were spread during the new wave of pandemic.

And we had a lot of disinformations about the vaccine, about the virus in general, and we had on the other hand a lack of a government strategy on how to fight this anti-vaxation because this is important. We in our society have allowed the anti-90sin revolution to gain a ground in relation to the narration society should be vaccinated. In this case, responsible institutions have not worked enough with awareness campaigns and with the distribution of precise information regarding the vaccine”, Gergur says.

He adds that mostly dezinforms in Kosovo are contained in social media, where in various groups individuals assigned to propaganda for the virus and vaccine.

“E have had its own impact considering people's behaviour since the vaccine came to Kosovo. In all of this hesitation, one of the factors is the dezinformom that has occurred during this period... Within institutions there must be a strategy that would include both human resources and the possibility of using different software, live facebook communication. Let's not forget, in English, algorithms exist much better than in Albanian and much that in English can block facebook itself, in Albanian it doesn't. Our institutions here must work”, Gerguri adds to Kosova Prees.

According to cyber security expert Mentor Hoxhaj, there is a huge influx of untrue reporting in relation to vaccines.

“has an extremely rising influx of false news related to either the option of COVID-19 or the vaccines. As for vaccines, there has been an enormous number of false news in the past, this trend is continuing with a trend of growth. What's disturbing is lack of real and informative news, and that then fills this void of information with false news”, he points out.

He points out that false news about the Astra-Zeneca vaccine has reflected even in citizens' reluctance to vaccinate.

“If we've had a news or two past, we now have two-five and that number is growing in huge numbers of fake news regarding medical drugs. Because people are now concerned about their health and absorb whatever is published on health... If we talk about international fraud we see in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Spain and Latin America. We have news that has source in Latin America and ends up in the Republic of Kosovo at a staggering speed”, he adds.

Forum for Citizen Initiative director Diana Berisha says the country's institutions should prevent propaganda.

Even offering vaccines already from the MS institution despite advances, is still facing difficulties. There is no need for a citizen of Vushtrria or Kamenica working in Pristina necessarily to go back to Vushtrri or Kamenica to vaccinate because it burdens the financial and time costs. Offer service to Pristina so that as many people are willing to go inoculation. The speed of service delivery plays an extraordinary role that makes people believe that the situation really is alarming and must be vaccinated”, she points out.

During this period there have been cases of counterfeiting by PCR tests and disrespecting measures imposed by institutions.