How to talk to those not ready to get the jab
Ka kite, Covid-19 pandemic. See you round. Like a terrible flatmate who moved in last year, we want Covid-19 out. Although the many tools we have used to keep Covid-19 in check have worked well, with vaccinations we now have a more powerful one to get many of the things we love back.
It is going to take as many people who can get vaccinated to get vaccinated. But some people are not quite ready for it.
How can we talk to people who are not sure about getting vaccinated?
The first thing is to talk less
People have hesitations about vaccinations for many reasons: they are worried about being able to access one; don’t trust doctors; are scared of needles; or they might want it but also want to wait to see what happens.
Don’t assume people with concerns just have the wrong information from the internet, or are reading the wrong flyers in their letterbox. Rather, when talking to a person not quite ready to get vaccinated, listen to why. The more you try to understand what is driving their concerns the better the conversation you will have.
Put your facts away for the moment
An ugly ‘‘fact-off’’ over the dinner table will backfire on you as well as ruining pudding. Giving people a lot of facts about vaccination safety or effectiveness won’t build their confidence in the process of vaccine development or delivery, or help deepen their understanding about why it matters so much to all of us when the risks from Covid-19 are still so great.
Connect rather than correct
Start with why vaccination matters to you. I will get vaccinated because there are people in my family and in my wider community who need me to. Some can’t get vaccinated because they are ill. Some are at high risk of getting really ill from Covid-19 if it gets around our borders. For most people who are thinking about vaccination but are not quite there, they care about others in their community as well. Letting people know that this is what motivates you to vaccinate also is a good way to connect.
Vaccination is just a means, talk about the better ends
We may want to try to scare people into getting vaccinated by talking about the losses people might experience if they don’t get one. For many people this is not nearly as motivating as talking about what we all have to gain from being vaccinated. Vaccination is the tool we can use to help bring families separated by Covid-19 back together, for example. And that is something to hope for.
Don’t hustle or bluff
Be transparent about what vaccination does and doesn’t do. Vaccination is very important to help us move past the pandemic stage of Covid-19. It will limit its spread, ensure that people will not get seriously ill, it will help us live with the virus in a much less harmful form. Honesty over bluster will build trust, and trust is critical in people’s vaccination decisions.
Be OK about walking away
Sometimes people need space to consider what you have talked about. It may be enough for them to know why this matters to you and to feel listened to. That can open the door a crack for them, a door that later chat opens a bit further. It may even be the nudge they needed to get vaccinated when the option is here, and it is easy for them to do.
A bit of humility is a powerful technology in having nuanced conversations about vaccination.