‘Oku taupotu ‘i lalo ha fakamatala fakaTonga
As the Covid-19 epidemic continues to affect our lives, it is important that people make decisions about how to respond based on facts rather than opinions.
Talking to people in our community, we know that some people are still worried about vaccinations. Some of them have been confused and taken advantage of by people pushing conspiracy theories and saying untrue things about vaccines.
To begin with, it is important for people to know the difference between a fact and an opinion.
Facts are things that can be proven to be true.
An opinion is a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
You can see something and think you know what is happening, but sometimes you need specialized training and education to know what is really happening. If you donāt have that training, education or experience, you have to ask somebody who does and to trust that what they say is true.
This is what the New Zealand Ministry of Health says:
āThe COVID-19 vaccines available in New Zealand ā Pfizer and Novavax ā stimulate your bodyās immune system to produce antibodies and train special cells that will fight the virus if youāre exposed to it.
The vaccines help preventāÆyou from getting infected, having COVID-19 symptoms, or severe illness. This means you could have no COVID-19 symptoms or will have much fewer, milder symptoms and recover faster.
The Pfizer vaccine cannot give you Covid-19.ā
These are facts. They have been tested and proven to be true.
However, some people still do not want to be vaccinated. Kaniva News has been talking with them. Here is what we found:
When asked why they opposed the vaccine, people said it was because one or some members of their family had been vaccinated and then experienced fever, headache, tiredness, or loss of appetite.
They said they had no doubt this was caused by the Covid vaccine and therefore the vaccine was bad and it was the cause of these side effects. When asked whether they had a professional health background or had studied medicine, they said no. In other words, their claims had no validity and were just the product of their own opinion based on what they saw.
What they shared with Kaniva News was an opinion, not something based on facts or knowledge.
If they wanted the facts they needed to talk to a doctor who has the experience, qualification and the proper equipment to help them identify the true cause of their relatives’ reactions to the Covid.
Some people suffer from side effects from vaccines. Doctors always warn their patients to be aware that they may feel ill after taking the dose.
Some people who spoke to Kaniva News said they did not believe in the vaccine and instead prayed to God to destroy the vaccine and those who had created it. When told that most Christians and members of other religions had prayed to God to give us the vaccine, they did not accept it.
Some people have claimed that the fact that the vaccines are distributed by the government means that Judgement Day is approaching.
It would be good for these people to think about how many times self-proclaimed prophets have declared that the end is nigh, only for the sun to rise as normal the next day.
It would also be useful to remember that Revelations 3:3 says specifically: āThou shalt not know the hour at which I shall come.ā In other words, nobody is meant to know when Judgement Day is meant to come.
We respect various religions and their beliefs, but we can’t use them as a tool to address our health problems. We must rely on science and doctors to treat our illnesses with the proper medicine.
If you cannot talk to a doctor, then there are plenty of good websites set up by the New Zealand government to provide information about Covid-29 and the vaccines. Some of this information is in Tongan: https://www.mpp.govt.nz/emergency-response/covid-19/covid-19-vaccination/vaccinations-and-boosters/ You can find information of the vaccine here: https://www.mpp.govt.nz/emergency-response/covid-19/covid-19-vaccination/
FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA
Koeāuhi āoku kei hokohoko atu pe toāumahaki Koviti 19 āo ne uesia āetau moāui āoku mahuāinga ki he kakai kef ai āenau tuāutuāuni ki he anga hono fakafepakiāi āo makatuāunga āi he moāoniāi meāa āoku lava fakamoāoniāiā kae āikai ko e fakakaukau.
Ne fai āa e talanoa ki he kakai āi hotau komiunitii pea mahino āoku kei āiai pe kakai āoku kei hohaāa pe ki he moāoni āo e huhu maluāiā. Niāihi āo kinautolu nau filingaua pea āoku maāu faingamalie ai āa e kakai ko eni āoku nau tuāuaki āa e ngaahi conspiracy theories pe fakakaukau hala mo taāemoāoni kau ki he huhu maluāi.
Ke tau kamataāaki, āoku mahuāinga ki he kakai ken au āilo āa e faikehekehe āo e moāoni (facts) mo e fakakaukau (opinion).
Ko e fact pe moāoni ko ha meāa ia āe pau ke lava āo fakamoāoniāi āoku moāoni.
Ko e fakakaukau ko e anga pe vakai pe fakamaauāi ha meāa āo āikai fiemaāu ia ke makatuunga āi he fact pe āilo.
āE lava ke ke sio ki he meāa pea ke fakakaukau āoku ke āilo āa e meāa āoku hokoā, kae taimi āe niāihi āoku fiemaāu āa e taukei makehe ia pe ha taha ne akoāi pe ako fakaāatamai ke fakahinohino āa e meāa moāoni āoku hokoā. Kapau naāe āikai ke maāu āa e ako pe ako fakaāatamai pe taukei ko iaā, kuopau k eke āeke ki ha taha āoku ne āilo pea ke falala ko e meāa āoku nau leaāaki āoku moāoni.
Ko e meāa ia āoku leamai āaki āe he PotungÄue Moāui āa Nuāu Silaā.
āāKo e huhu maluāi Koviti 19 āoku maāu āi Nuāu Sila – Pfizer mo e Novavax ā āoku ne fakaāaiāai āa e āimiuni sisitemi ho sino ke ne tuku mai ha āenitipoti pea ngaahi sela kuo akoāi makehe ken au fuhuāi āa e vailasi āoku ne maāu koeā.
āOku tokoni āa e vekisini ke maluāi koe mei he pihia pe maāu āa e fakaāilonga āo e Koviti 19, pe puke lahi. āOku āuhinga āeni, āe āikai ha fakaāilonga āoku ke maāu āa e Koviti-19 pe maāu siāisiāi pe, vaivai pe fakaāilonga mo vave haāo sai.
āOku āikai lava k eke maāu āa e Koviti 19 mei he huhu maluāi Koviti 19.
Ko e ngaahi moāoni āeni pe facts. Kuo āosi sivi ia pea fakamoāoniāi āoku moāoni.
Neongo ia āoku kei taāefiehuhu maluāi pe āa e kakai āe niāihi. Naāe talanoa āa e Kanivaā mo e kakai ko eni pea ko e anga āeni āenau lauā.
āI he taimi naāe āeke ai pe ko e ha āoku nau fakafepakiāi ai āa e huhu maluāi pehe āe he kakaiā ni ne āi ai honau famili ne huhu maluāi pea nau mofi, tokotokakoviāia, langaāulu, heleāaia mo āikai fiekai.
Naāa nau pehe āoku āikai haāanau toe veiveiua ko e fakatupu āeni āe he huhu maluāi Koviti pea ko ia ai āoku kovi āa e huhu maluāi. I hono eke ange pe ne āi ai haāanau ako ki he moāui pe ako ki he faitoāo, ne nau pehe āikai. Ko hono fakalea āe taha, ko āenau taukave halaā āoku āikai hano makatuāunga moāoni pea ko e ola pe ia āenau fakakaukau makatuāunga he meāa ne nau sio ki ai.
Ko e meāa ko ee ne nau vahevahe mai moe Kaniva ko e fakakaukau āikai ko ha meāa ne peisi āi ha mooni pe āilo.
Kapau naāa nau fiemaāu ke ilo āa e moāoni naāe fiemaāu ia ken au talanoa ki ha toketa pe taha taukei, maāu tuāunga fakaako mo nau maāu āa e meāangaue totonu ke tokoni kia kinautolu ke nau lava tala āa e tupuanga totonu e toe fakafetau āa e sino āa honau famulu ki he huhu maluāi.
Oku puke niāihi mei he saiti āifeki āo e huhu maluāi. Oku fakatokanga maāu pe āa e kau toketaa ki he kau mahaki ken au tokanga āe lava ken au ongoi puke āi haanau huhu maluāi.
Kakai e niihi ne nau talanoa mo e Kaniva nau pehe naāe ikai ken au tui ki he faitoāo huhu maluāi ko ia ai ne nau lotu ki he āOtua ke fakaāauha e faitoāo pea mo kinautolu ne nau faāu. Ko e taimi ne tala ange ai ne lotu mo e kau Kalisitiane tokolahi mo e kakai he ngaahi lotu kehe ki he Otua ha huhu maluāi, naāe āikai ke nau tali ia āenautolu.
Pehe āe he niāihi ko hono tufaki ko eni e he puleanga āa e huhu maluāi āoku āuhinga ia kuo vahe āa e āaho fakamuiā.
āE lelei ki he kakai ko eni ke fakakaukau ko e tuāofiha eni e kikite āa ha kau palofita taautaha o pehe kuo ofi a e āaho fakamui ka e hala āata ke hoko.
Oku toe mahuinga ke manatuāi āi he tohi Fakahaa 3:3 oku pehe ai āe āikai ilo āa e taimi mo e houa e hoko mai ai. I hono fakalea āe taha āe āikai ha taha ia te ne ilo āa e taimi e hoko ai a e aho fakamuiā.
āOku tau fakaapaapaāi a e gaahi tui lotu kehekehe ka āe āikai ke tau fakaaongai e tui fakalotu ko ha meāangaue ia ke solovaāaki āetau palopalema fakaemoāui. Kuo pau ke tau fakafalala pe āi he saienisi mo kau toketaa ke faitoāo āetau puke āaki āa e faitoo totonu.