Vaccine Hesitancy Persists in Morocco Despite Successful Covid-19 Campaign

"I am a man of faith and Allah has entrusted me with this body for which I am responsible. I must take care of it. I do not know the components of this vaccine. It may contain toxic, chemical, or even prohibited elements in our religion. That’s why I refuse to get vaccinated," says Mouhcine, a sympathizer of the Islamist movement Al Adl Wal Ihsane, to the magazine Le Point. Kelthoum, a project manager at a large communications company, shares this view: "Me, get vaccinated? But no way! I know doctors who have had the opportunity to analyze the vaccines. They confirmed to me that they contain alcohol, a lot of alcohol, something I refuse to inject into my pure and spiritual body..."

Salim, met in his auto repair shop, was convinced not to get vaccinated through messages posted on Facebook pages on the subject. "For AstraZeneca, I’m 100% sure it contains pork gelatin! It’s haram, we all agree, don’t we? For Sinopharm, some say there’s a Chinese gene that aims to make us all infidels! And for Sputnik V, most think it contains a particle capable of making us love vodka... but for that one, I’m not very sure," he recounts.

Politicians also display their reluctance to receive vaccine doses. "When you get the vaccine, you receive antibodies, but also, in most cases, nano-elements that affect or paralyze mental faculties... which is extremely outrageous and the state seems insensitive to this!" declares Nabila Mounib, secretary general of the Unified Socialist Party (PSU), to the press. In the same vein, Naoufal, a 25-year-old academic, believes that the state would be amassing money through the vaccination campaign and could implant an electronic chip, the famous 5G, in citizens. "They want to track us, be careful, the new world order wants to track everyone at the slightest gesture, stay on your guard and don’t give in!" he warns.

Hakim, a student at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat, mentions the risks associated with vaccination. "Not only are the vaccines ineffective given the exponential mutation of the virus, but the side effects are frightening: thrombosis, flu-like syndromes, heart rhythm disorders, high blood pressure, sudden and temporary paralysis of the muscles on one side, or severe allergic reaction..."

Faced with this increased reluctance of some Moroccans, the government has its work cut out to succeed in convincing the population to accept the vaccine against the coronavirus.