Disinformation and conspiracy theories, along with more well-founded concerns about waning vaccine efficacy, have contributed to widespread hesitancy about getting inoculated, according to Abdulsalam al-Khayyat, director of the public health department at An Najah University’s medical school in Nablus, in the West Bank.
“Many people simply are not receiving reliable information about the vaccines,” he said.
Bethlehem, where the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in a West Bank Palestinian city was found, may have been harmed the most. In addition to causing at least 258 deaths in the region, the virus has ravaged the tourism industry in the city where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. Hotels and restaurants have closed and tour guides have been put out of work.
But at the bustling open-air market in the Old City, many fruit and vegetable vendors spoke almost as loudly about their vaccine skepticism as they did in hawking their produce.
“I read online that people will die two years after they take the vaccine,” said Issa Abu Huleil, 53, citing an unfounded rumor as he sold a watermelon to a customer. “So I decided I’m not taking the vaccine. Why would I risk it? My health is excellent.”