Context: In a recent interview, the Union Health Minister, asserted that lockdowns and social distancing are the most effective “social vaccines” available to fight the pandemic as it has far broader implications.
About Social Vaccine

• It is a metaphor for a series of social and behavioural measures that governments can use to raise public consciousness about unhealthy situations through social mobilisation.
• This can drive political will and hold governments accountable to address the social determinants of health by adopting progressive socio-economic policies.
• When applied to pandemics, the effectiveness of a social vaccine is determined by the extent of dissemination and uptake of accurate information about personal infection risk and methods to reduce the risk.
• A social vaccine addresses barriers and facilitators of behaviour change, whether attitudinal, social, cultural, or economic, and supplements information, education, and communication (IEC) with targeted social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) strategies.

Example

• Uganda and Thailand used IEC and SBCC strategies effectively during the HIV/AIDS pandemic to bring down the incidence of HIV infection, before highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) was introduced in 1995.

A social vaccine also requires people to hold leaders accountable to invest in:

• Rapidly scaling-up testing; meeting the basic and economic needs of vulnerable sections;
• Providing psychological support where needed;
• Not communalising or politicising the pandemic;
• Providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to front-line workers and other essential services; and
• Not compromising the privacy and dignity of infected individuals and their families in the interest of public health.