Few relish a jab in the arm with a needle. If the syringe prevented Covid-19, then many might think it a pain worth suffering — but by no means all. Tens of thousands of anti-lockdown protesters gathered in Berlin over the weekend, some to voice their discontent at the possibility of being coerced by the state into getting vaccinated. The situation is far from unique to Germany. In Italy, where the broader anti-vaccination movement enjoys widespread support, both main anti-establishment parties campaigned last year against compulsory routine vaccinations for children. In the US, a fifth of people say they would never submit to inoculation against coronavirus; another third remain unsure. A recent online survey of UK residents showed a quarter would decline a vaccine if the government made it “available tomorrow”.
很少有人享受胳膊上被扎一針的感覺。如果注射疫苗能夠預防新型冠狀病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠狀病毒病），那么很多人可能會認為這是值得忍受的疼痛——但絕非所有人都這樣想。上周末，數萬名反對封鎖政策的抗議者聚集在柏林，其中一些人表達了對政府可能強迫他們接種疫苗的不滿。這種情況絕非德國獨有。在意大利，更大規模的反疫苗運動得到了廣泛支持。去年，該國兩個主要反建制政黨都發起了反對給兒童強制性接種常規疫苗的運動。在美國，五分之一的人稱他們永遠不會接種新冠病毒疫苗；還有三分之一的人表示不確定。最近一項針對英國居民的在線調查顯示，如果政府“明天就能提供”疫苗，四分之一的人將拒絕接種。