No, we won’t all die from COVID-19. Even the unvaccinated will not all die from this virus. That’s what specialists, researchers, and epidemiologists say and I believe them. Annually, the most important causes of death among the citizens of Moldova are heart attacks, strokes, cirrhosis, and cancer.

Why do people die prematurely? Some consult the doctor too late, others do not have access to healthcare as there are few medical workers left in the villages, still, others go to the doctors, but do not follow their advice, either because they do not have money, or, rather, because they do not trust them.

Moldova has a problem with respecting rules. People do not trust the system, therefore they do not believe in the rules established by the Government. For decades, they have been committing acts of corruption, stealing from the most helpless, and none of the country thieves has ever been punished. Dissatisfaction and distrust grind people down and they die of heart attack or stroke or cirrhosis.

It’s true, cirrhosis is often caused by alcohol though not all people with cirrhosis have abused alcohol; statistically, however, most people who abuse alcohol get cirrhosis. And alcoholism can be caused by frustration, dissatisfaction, despair, and mistrust. People can no longer trust the authorities, so they would rather have an extra drink than get vaccinated and die from fear. They know they will die from alcohol, but at least it’s a familiar symptom to them.

The next cause of death is accidents on the roads, at work, or other hazards. Just last week, a young man died in his prime under his father’s eyes, falling from a scaffold of a building. In construction, workers often rely less on rules and the help of the administration and more on their own strength.

I have often seen fatal accidents in which children, not wearing a seat belt, were thrown through the windshield on the impact of two vehicles just because some drivers don’t believe in rules.

It is true that the rules do not seem to be written for everyone. Many times those who most aggressively and insensibly violated the rules escaped justice just because the legal system has rules, but they are not respected.

Ever since the pandemic came, the epidemic of mistrust of the system and the epidemic of fear to follow new rules have come to light in all its splendor. How can people follow new rules if they have not yet assimilated the old ones? People still do not wash their hands to prevent dysentery and hepatitis, and we want them to wash hands to prevent COVID. People have not yet gained confidence in the treatment of tuberculosis, and we expect them to wear a mask in the COVID pandemic.

You can forcefully give a person money or medicine, but you can’t force anyone to trust. Trust is a kind of love that you can’t force down one’s throat, otherwise, it turns into rape. Moldova now has free vaccines as a solution to reduce serious illnesses and deaths in hospitals, but people would rather catch COVID than get vaccinated. Some consider the vaccine a kind of rape.

Some people think that the vaccine kills, if not immediately after the vaccine, then in a year or two. Personally, I got vaccinated, alongside my children and my mother. My colleagues got vaccinated as well. After several months, we are still alive, healthy, and without problems. We got vaccinated because we believe in science and because we want to work, to make new issues of Ziarul de Gardă, which people trust, and for that, we want to be safe and healthy.

Still, do people die from the vaccine? Our newsroom has not encountered any cases, and we communicate with tens and hundreds of people every day. However, we consider the fear of death to be a very important issue and if we find out that there is suspicion of death because of the vaccine, we will investigate it and inform the people.

This is what governments should do: identify people’s fears and explain them using clear evidence until there are no more questions. And if there are suspicious incidents and cases, they should be honestly and publicly elucidated. Otherwise, the pandemic of mistrust will lead to heart attacks, strokes, cirrhosis, and other forms of premature death. And it is in vain that we have a vaccine if our doctors work with masks, coveralls, visors, and gloves to save this nation who needs resuscitation because of so much mistrust.