By Nikos Xydakis

Recent data reveal that swine flu is nearing epidemic proportions in Greece as it has in other countries. At the same time, and with the vaccination drive expected to begin on Monday, people in Greece are skeptical of the jab and remain hesitant about receiving it.

A recent poll by Public Issue suggested that two in three Greeks will not be getting the vaccine. Health professionals such as doctors and nurses, who are considered the best informed, emerged as the most negative about the effects of the inoculation. So, what is going on? Ukraine has been hard hit; the Swedes are vaccinating themselves in droves and the French health minister received hers on TV to set an example for the eight in 10 reluctant residents of France. Why are Greeks resisting? Maybe the answer lies in the hysteria of the outbreak’s early days, generated largely by the media. Or it could be a healthy distrust of the pharmaceutical industry and its lobbying power. The potential side effects of the vaccination, which even experts accept, may be yet another reason, while we could also add the Greeks’ proclivity for always seeing a conspiracy lurking in the corner.

Now, however, with a pandemic knocking at the country’s door, inoculation is no longer a matter of personal choice, it is one of public safety for the entire population of the country. A swine flu pandemic would stretch intensive-care units beyond their limits, tax the entire healthcare system and deal a blow to school and public life generally.

At this point, the decision-making process should not be left to the individual. Someone needs to take responsibility for having every vulnerable member of society vaccinated so that we can limit the scope of the outbreak and the number of victims. In a democracy, those who should take responsibility are the heads of state and civil servants, and they should be leading the rest of the population by example. Ministers, MPs, hospital chiefs and school principals should all get in line for the jab, and then, maybe, everyone else will follow.