The road to non-prejudicial and clean understanding on vaccination

• Main Author: Wan Mohd Ghazali, Wan Norshira
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: H61.8 Communication of information
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/93996/1/93996_The%20Road%20to%20Non-Prejudicial%20and%20Clean%20Understanding%20_new.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93996/

Islam commands preventive measures to ensure the well-being of mankind. Vaccination is a proposed measure as Malaysia is still fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic. Vaccination is an act of honouring one’s own body based on Prophet Muhammad's tradition in Sahih Bukhari that “Your body has a right on you”. Therefore, getting vaccinated is also part of our responsibility to protect the society and this effort by our government to inoculate the Malaysian population should be supported. Hence, clean, non-prejudicial information, and sufficient knowledge on benefits and risk of vaccines should be distributed to the public as so to allow them in making an informed decision. However, misinformation on vaccination in the form of scaremongering, hoaxes, bogus experts, uncertified sources, and conspiracy theories have shaken the public’s trust. Social media has become one of the vehicles of this misinformation. Mainstream media has further exacerbated the situation with their insensitive reporting through sensational headlines and summaries. Therefore, this chapter will explain why a non-prejudicial and clean understanding of vaccination is important and how one can abstain from misinformation.