How to talk to COVID vaccine hesitant
In rich countries like ours, it's easy to get frustrated with the unvaccinated.
Unlike poorer nations having trouble getting enough COVID-19 vaccines, Canada has ample supply.
Here, it's a choice not to get immunized. And the unvaccinated, to put it bluntly, are the primary fuel keeping the pandemic going in this country.
But “the unvaccinated” is such a cold term. It includes millions of Canadians — mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, spouses, relatives, friends, neighbours, coworkers, etc. — with widely varying reasons for avoiding immunization.
Some have medical conditions that prevent them from being immunized (these folks count on the rest of us to protect them).
Some have been understandably dismayed by changing advice from health authorities.
Some ask perfectly reasonable questions about safety and long-term effects. Some simply hate needles. They're fellow human beings, with all our species' good qualities and foibles.
So, patience and understanding are in order.
At the same time, there's a threat of a deadly fourth wave this fall.
The danger comes from the virulent, highly contagious Delta variant now driving the pandemic bus.
How contagious is Delta? Last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky called Delta “one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of, and that I have seen in my 20-year career.”
That means reaching herd immunity — the level of vaccination (or immunity through prior exposure) in a population that stalls viral transmission, protecting everyone — is going to be tougher.
Health experts speculate it could take up to 90 per cent of the population.
We're nowhere near that yet.
As of Tuesday morning in
Canada, 55.9 per cent of the country was fully vaccinated. Just over 70 per cent had at least one dose. (Note: These numbers are constantly updated).
In Atlantic Canada, only Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, at 57 per cent, are ahead of the national pace in percentage of the population fully vaccinated. Newfoundland and Labrador (45.5) and P.E.I. (40.2) have been slower.
This region has done a better job of getting jabbed once. Newfoundland and Labrador leads, at 76.8 per cent partly vaccinated, followed by P.E.I. (76.4), Nova Scotia (74.6) and New Brunswick (72.1); all are above the national average.
But there's a distance to go if we hope to hit 90 per cent fully vaccinated.that adds urgency to the task at hand — trying to convince those we know aren't (but could be) immunized to join the rest of us.
There's a way you can help. First, understand the below refers to the truly hesitant, not the uber-resistant convinced of vast conspiracies or cynically employed in spreading misinformation.
Surveys suggest those adamant they will not be vaccinated represent no more than 10 per cent of the population.
Vaccine hesitancy, at its core, is about trust (and distrust, particularly of the government, pharmaceutical companies and, yes, us in the media).
Research has shown that the people most likely to have a chance of persuading the unvaccinated to get a shot (or two) are those they most trust — such as family members, close friends or local experts like their family doctor.
How you approach such conversations is crucial, experts say.
Hear out why they are hesitant. Try to logically address their concerns, many of which are rational and understandable, under the circumstances. The engine of vaccine development, fuelled by unprecedented funding, has blazed ahead — and there have been bumps in the road.
Anger, lectures and public shaming aren't likely to change minds.
Vaccines don't guarantee invulnerability. No vaccine does. But there's abundant real-world data showing they're remarkably effective and, most importantly, almost always prevent serious illness or death if a vaccinated person catches COVID.
To date in Canada, there have only been some 2,400 reports of serious side-effects (0.005 per cent) from almost 48 million doses delivered.
And yes, that includes 152 deaths, but only six, involving blood clots, have been definitively tied to a shot. Of the rest, 61 were found unlikely to be linked, 52 had insufficient information and 33 are still under investigation.
Meanwhile, 16 months in, COVID-19 has killed more than 26,550 Canadians (out of 1.4 million cases). Since immunizations began last December, the unvaccinated represent about 90 per cent of cases.
And remember, a significant portion of that data was compiled before the Delta variant took hold.
Your odds against COVID are much, much better if you're vaccinated.
Finally, as one article I read on this subject put it, even if you're unsuccessful in shifting that person's stance right away, it's OK. Perhaps you've just helped them eventually change their mind.