The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been categorized as a pandemic because of its unparalleled level of contagiousness. As of November 11, 2023, there have been 697,644,030 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,937,337 documented deaths globally (Worldometer, 2023; Accessed on November 11). Its rapid global dissemination can be attributed to its high contagiousness and mutability, uncomplicated method of transmission, and ability to withstand environmental variations (MacKenzie & Smith, 2020). However, twelve distinct varieties of this virus have been discovered, with the Delta and Omicron variants being the most contagious (Mohsin et al., 2022). Health professionals have made substantial attempts to develop vaccinations to counteract the rapid spread of pathogens and have successfully delivered several vaccines globally. The global vaccination program has substantially decreased the number of infectious diseases and deaths.
The initial instance of COVID-19 in Bangladesh was detected on March 8, 2020, with the first recorded fatality occurring on March 18, 2020 (Bangladesh et al. in Bangladesh, 2023). From the beginning, the Bangladesh government implemented many precautions to mitigate the propagation of the coronavirus. One of the measures that gained significant acceptance involved the implementation of a stay-at-home (often called lockdown) order for workplaces nationwide on March 16, which remained in effect until May 30, 2020 (Akanda & Ahmed, 2020). From March 16, 2020, until September 11, 2021, all educational institutions were closed to avoid face-to-face interactions (Akhter et al., 2021; Roberton et al., 2020). Additionally, the implementation of isolation and quarantine measures was advised to manage the transmission of the disease effectively. This sudden restriction on movement gave rise to various challenges for the general population, encompassing financial hardships due to income loss, insufficient knowledge regarding the importance of adhering to social distancing measures and wearing masks, and other health concerns (Akhter et al., 2021; Roberton et al., 2020).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, misinformation, fear, and panic have become prevalent throughout the country (Hossain et al., 2021). The dissemination of rumors and subsequent panic have contributed to the stigmatization and discriminatory treatment of COVID-19-infected individuals (Islam et al., 2020). Individuals with limited knowledge of this virus have undergone experiences of anxiety, discrimination, and stigma (Miah et al., 2022). Moreover, the government-imposed rules on movement and physical contact were so strict that they created fear, anxiety, and stress among the general population, instigating the process of stigmatization (Mahmud & Islam, 2021). Such a kind of fear has labeled COVID-19-infected persons in such a way that other people (who are not infected) maintain distance from "them" (who are infected) to avoid infection (Devakumar et al., 2020). From a sociological point of view, this kind of labeling is defined as social stigma resulting in social exclusion and discrimination against a target group (Goffman, 1963; Phelan et al., 2008; Potter, 2008). According to UNICEF, in a pandemic, stigma denotes labeling, stereotyping, discriminating, treating someone separately, and causing a loss of social status due to a perceived connection with a particular disease (UNICEF, 2020).
Past outbreaks of infectious diseases caused different kinds of discrimination and stigma for different nations around the world (Ransing et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic is similarly associated with fear, anxiety, and extreme stress levels, resulting in various social stigmas and discrimination against Corona-affected persons, their family members, close friends, as well as healthcare providers (Turner-Musa et al., 2020). In Bangladesh, we observed numerous cases of discrimination and stigma against corona patients as well as COVID-19 symptomatic persons during the initial phase of this pandemic, including abandoning corona patients by their family members, leaving corona symptomatic mothers by their sons, refusing the burial of corona dead bodies, denial of performing religious rituals for dead persons, isolating corona affected persons and their families from society, harassment, and forced eviction. Moreover, incidences of locals destroying a proposed COVID-19 dedicated hospital, local people's protests maintaining lockdown, and denial of burial of COVID-infected people in local graveyards are observed in different parts of the country. As a result, individuals with COVID-19 symptoms tend to hide their symptoms when accessing healthcare services and avoid testing (Logie & Turan, 2020).
Researchers have also shed light on such experiences of corona survivors from different contexts of the world (Arefin et al., 2022; Mahbubur Rahman et al., 2021; Miah et al., 2022; Missel et al., 2021; Sahoo et al., 2020). et al., 2022; Missel et al., 2021; Miah et al., 2021; Mahbubur et al., 2022; Arefin et al., 2022). However, at the beginning of 2023, such scenarios seemed to have changed considerably. The worldwide mass vaccination campaign has significantly reduced Corona infection and death rates. It is estimated that vaccination prevented 14.4 million deaths due to COVID-19, representing a global reduction of 79% of deaths from December 8, 2020, to December 8, 2021 (Watson et al., 2022). Approximately 69.9% of the world population has received at least one dose of a corona vaccine (Our World in Data, April 14, 2023), while in the case of Bangladesh, the corona vaccination rate (any dose) has reached 88.39% until April 6, 2023 (In et al., 2023). A mass vaccination program, along with other necessary steps (awareness-building campaigns, ensuring quarantine and lockdown, keeping infected people in isolation, maintaining social distancing, and mask-wearing) initiated by the Bangladesh government, has slowed down the pace of this virus. People are not as scared of this disease as before. As a result, incidences of discrimination and stigma against Corona patients are not being highlighted on news portals and social media nowadays. Therefore, patients experiencing COVID-19 during the initial phase of this pandemic suffered more than those who contracted it in recent times. While the experiences of stigma and discrimination of early COVID-19 survivors or non-vaccinated COVID-19 survivors have been extensively studied and clearly described, the stigmatization of vaccinated COVID-19 survivors has remained undocumented until recently.
Hence, the present study aims to develop a comparative understanding of the process of stigmatization among non-vaccinated and vaccinated COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh. As stigma always originates from sociocultural contexts, this study will explore new insights into the process of stigmatization based on two different social contexts in Bangladesh (before and after the implementation of the mass vaccination program) during the Corona pandemic. This study, however, examines the stigmatized experiences of both non-vaccinated and vaccinated patients. The types and sources of stigmatization of early COVID-19 exposers may differ from those infected in later phases of the pandemic. Therefore, there is an urgent need to examine various types and sources of stigma and possible strategies to reduce stigma during pandemic situations. By comparing the experiences of two categories of patients at different times, this study aims to understand the process of stigmatization more dynamically and suggest suitable policy responses. This endeavor will help health experts and policymakers understand deeply the social-psychological ground of stigmatizing COVID-19 patients and design more efficient public health policies from a patient’s perspective.