New approach needed to vaccine hesitancy

Some reasons people remain unvaccinated are: distrust of government or big pharma, inability to take time off work or child care, laziness, ignorance or denial of the seriousness of COVID, fear of medical procedures, belief in conspiracy theories, making a statement about freedom of choice, identification with certain subcultures, lack of accessibility, belief that the vaccines are experimental and were developed too quickly, awaiting full approval by the FDA, fear of possible long-term side effects and previous individual bad reactions to vaccines.

Forcing resistors may only harden their resolve.

Some approaches to increase uptake are: nudging people toward compliancy by first understanding the core reasons for their resistance and addressing misinformation about COVID and the vaccines skilfully; appealing to their responsibility to protect those around them and help end the scourge of the pandemic; making getting the vaccine more convenient by supporting lost wages and child care and facilitating the process by the use of mobile and workplace clinics; making it increasingly difficult for the unvaccinated to function in society by banning attendance at concerts, sports events, schools of all types, religious services, indoor jobs with multiple workers and denying travel on planes, trains, ships and mass transport; and widely and graphically publicizing the negative outcomes some COVID patients experience, emphasizing that even young people can die or develop chronic, debilitating symptoms.

The threat of this virus, almost an ideal pathogen, will not just disappear by our getting lucky. Stronger, deliberate measures are required before the virus outwits the current vaccines.

Alan Guberman, Ottawa