COVID-19 VACCINES, BOOSTERS AND DOSES AND THE QUESTION OF ADDICTION

Abstract

There is wide debate on a proper understanding of addiction anchored so far on whether addiction is a disease (that is, a pathological compulsion the individual cannot resist), or a matter of choice (that is, a matter of willpower and self-control). On the other hand, COVID-19 is a pandemic that is currently ravaging the globe since November 2019 when the first cases were reported in Wuhan, China. Today, COVID-19 has given birth to several variants forcing governments of nations, traditional authorities, among others, to call for vaccinations as a way of regulating its spread. Many have yielded to this regulation (the vaccinated) and others (the unvaccinated) have refused while very many others have stopped half way in the vaccination exercise, and governments have outlined certain mechanisms against the unvaccinated and half-vaccinated. The vaccinated are required to take boosters and doses to protect the effectiveness of the vaccine. Now the problem one stands to wonder about is that the additional booster could, in prospect, be an attempt to drive individuals into addiction (dependence on boosters and doses) to keep their immune system healthy. The question now is: what is the need for the booster after taking both the first and second shots; and with even the booster, one could still be affected by the virus? It is in this respect that the paper therefore sets out to explore the underlining addictive tendencies inherent in the management of Covid-19 through the vaccination series and the booster. The expectation from this paper is an analytical exposition that the vaccinated may be heading into addictive tendencies in the future where taking of boosters and doses becomes a compulsion for healthy immune system, as it concludes that the governments of nation-states should not only be immediate conscious but also future conscious about this. The paper shall adopt analytical and expository methods.