Distrust in government officials and a failure to effectively spread multi-lingual Covid-19 information is fuelling vaccine scepticism among central and eastern Europeans living in Ireland.
Many foreign nationals who do not speak fluent English are relying on Facebook posts and YouTube videos for information on the Covid-19 vaccine rather than following national news reports on the pandemic, Voyteck Bialek, director of the Together-Razem charity in Cork has warned.
His comments came after the latest CSO figures revealed the vaccine rate among central and eastern Europeans living in Ireland was just 44 per cent, compared with the 90 per cent uptake rate for Irish nationals.
Mr Bialek, whose charity provides support to Ireland’s Polish and eastern-central European community, said a general distrust in government means many people do not follow official HSE messaging.
“There’s a lot of mistrust towards the authorities and that has real historical connotations, it goes back to the time when people lived during communism.”
While foreign language campaigning about handwashing and social distancing early in the pandemic was generally effective, Mr Bialek says he has not seen this multi-lingual messaging continue through the vaccine rollout.
The Government must work with migrant support groups and charities to share vaccine information, while the Catholic Church can also play an important role given its important position within the Polish community, he said.
However, he said a “a good few” Polish and Romanians travelled home in late spring/early summer to get the one-dose Johnson & Johnson rather than wait for an Irish-supplied vaccine so they may not be included in the CSO figures.
Divide
Dublin-based psychologist Violeta Mooney, who is originally from Lithuania, says most Lithuanians in Ireland get their news from their home country where the vaccine rates are "horrendous".
"There's a huge divide in Lithuania. The government's approach to vaccination was almost like Russian times – it was 'You have to take it, or we'll punish you'. This created huge negativity and an even stronger anti-vax movement. We were told for decades what to do by Russia so people want to exercise some sort of choice. It's like a protest.
“The Irish population is relatively happy with their government and so trust their health decisions but the Lithuanian government is not liked.”
Most Lithuanians living in Ireland do not watch RTÉ and or pay attention to chief medical officer, Tony Holohan, she added. "They read the online newspapers from Lithuania and share information on Facebook."
Many Lithuanians feared the speed with which the vaccine was created: “For many people it happened too fast and they feel that’s impossible, medication is not created like that. And the lack of a clear explanation of where the virus actually came from doesn’t help.”
Stronger messaging is needed to get through to immigrants: “We also need to get community leaders on board and encourage them to share information through Facebook pages. That’s where a lot of people read this stuff.”
Graham Clifford, who last year set up the Translate Ireland multilingual video service to provide information on Covid-19 and the vaccination campaign, says a more “structured and networked campaign” is needed”. “This needs to include not just GPs and hospital staff but also employers, community leaders and NGOs working with migrants.”
The HSE’s National Director of the Covid Vaccine Programme Damien McCallion said on Friday the health executive was renewing its foreign language campaign through local press and radio to try and reach migrant communities who have yet to get the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the Government is considering a dedicated campaign on vaccinations to reach out to people who live in Ireland who do not speak English.
Case study: ‘We want to wait and see’
Peter* has always tried to avoid taking medication and prefers using natural remedies whenever he feels ill. “My wife and I are very healthy and do lots of outdoor activities. If we have a headache we drink water and we take a tablet if we’re really sick. But if I get a prescription from the doctor I don’t go straight to the pharmacy. I wait a few days, eat healthily and usually I feel okay. If I feel really bad, I’ll take the antibiotics.”
Peter, who has lived in Ireland for 15 years and is originally from Poland, is not yet vaccinated. He says he is not against the vaccine but still hasn’t decided whether to take it. He is one of the 56 per cent of central and eastern Europeans living in Ireland who are not yet vaccinated.
“My wife and I want to be 100 per cent sure what we’re taking because nobody knows exactly what’s in it. After swine flu we didn’t take the vaccine and nobody got sick. My two sisters are vaccinated and we keep checking to see if they’re okay. We want to wait and see.”
Peter admits he does not follow the Irish news but sometimes tunes into news reports from Poland. “We know some people who are going crazy watching all the news. We prefer to stay positive everyday.”
He says his grown-up daughter recently got vaccinated without telling her family. “She didn’t say anything but she’s very Irish,” says Peter. “I told her I don’t have a problem with it, it’s your decision.”
Peter says many of his friends are also uncertain about the vaccine but that some have started taking it so they can fly abroad. He was initially worried about contracting Covid-19 but with the birth of his son last year, he says he doesn’t have time to worry about it anymore.
“I’m not sceptical about the vaccine but I still have many questions and we need answers. We can’t say yes, we can’t say no.”
*Interviewee requested that pseudonym be used
