Having the vaccine talk with your loved ones

With COVID-19 vaccinations slowing down across America, some public officials are calling on vaccinated people to advocate for the shot with more hesitant family, friends and co-workers.

Polling data shows that most people who aren’t vaccinated say they can be convinced to, but are just unsure. For example, only 11% of unvaccinated people say they will definitely get the shot, and 34% definitely won’t, according to findings by an Associated Press, NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Poll.

That means about 54% of unvaccinated people are on the fence. Of those, about half say they probably will get the shot and the other half probably

won’t, the poll found.

“The majority who are not getting vaccinated are not saying no: They’re saying ‘not yet,’ ” said Dr. Michael Lauzardo, chief of the University of Florida’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine “These are not, for the most part, anti-vaxxers.”

He continued, “The majority of people who haven’t gotten vaccinated… you look at their immunization records, they’ve been vaccinated for flu and other things…they just haven’t been convinced.”

But conversations with loved ones revolving around vaccines have the potential to be ripe with misinformation — on social media, it can be unavoidable — and can turn partisan in some cases.

Experts say the key to these conversations is to be persistent, and not expecting to change somebody’s mind in just one talk. It’s also important to be neutral, and help ease burdens about the shot, said Dr. Luis Allen, an AdventHealth psychiatrist.

Allen said that a chunk of the population has anxiety, and doesn’t like to be rushed into decision-making — a challenge as public health officials urge speedy vaccinations to slow the spread of the virus.

“If we’re going to approach and we want to be effective, we definitely cannot be judgmental about it,” he said. “We have to show that level of empathy and understanding and spend that time listening and understand what sits at the core of their fear.”

In some cases it can be valuable to recap the impacts COVID-19 has had on them and loved ones: whether that be canceled plans, keeping them indoors away from friends and family, or being responsible for the deaths of others.

He also suggested offering to help book appointments, or even going with the person to get the vaccine as a way to ease fears.

“We should all try to reach out to someone that hasn’t had it, to be that source of support, comfort to help them with the process,” he said.

Lauzardo said another effective way could be to reach out to a trusted physician to address their concerns with a medical expert.

Dr. Edgar Sanchez, vice chairman of Orlando Health’s Infectious Disease Group, said in his experience, convincing somebody to become vaccinated takes multiple conversations, and use of “a scalpel instead of a hammer.”

“Whoever I am able to convince, it’s not an immediate thing,” he said. “But if you can plant the seeds with them and get them to think about it and get them to look in the right places, then maybe they’ll change their mind.”

The Orlando Sentinel interviewed several infectious disease experts about how to chat with loved ones about the vaccine, as well as how to combat several myths or untruths about the shot.

The vaccine was rushed. It’s not fully authorized by the FDA. I don’t want to be a test subject: While it’s true the COVID-19 vaccine was brought to market far quicker than previous vaccinations, public health experts say that’s more of a product of government removing red tape and financial obstacles, than inexact science crafting the medicine.

Not every company that tried to find a working vaccination was able to do so. Merck, one of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers, halted its efforts in January after clinical trials showed lower responses than other vaccines.

“It was able to be done fast because it was probably the single biggest effort humankind has ever done,” Lauzardo said.

The speed of development can also be traced to scientists around the world all working toward solving one singular problem, Sanchez said.

“If we invest money in something, and the whole world studies it…then you can get something out there quicker,” he said.

It’s also true that the vaccine isn’t fully approved by the FDA — it’s allowed to be used under an emergency use authorization — but that’s not a reflection of its performance in clinical trials or efficacy, but is a bureaucratic step that requires about six months of data, the doctors said.

To be fully approved by federal regulators, a company has to demonstrate a longer period of data for the FDA to review, and also show an ability to consistently mass-produce the vaccine, Lauzardo said.

“It’s not an experimental vaccine, it has great data, better data than other vaccines people have taken in the past,” he said. “I was skeptical at the idea…and I looked at the data and there was nothing to be skeptical about.”

I’ve already had COVID19, so I have immunity and don’t need the vaccine: While people who recover from COVID-19 are thought to receive natural immunity, it’s unclear how long that protection lasts, and experts suspect it’s not as long as people who receive vaccines.

“For the first couple of months after you get COVID, you’re probably right,” said Dr. Edgar Sanchez, a board-certified Orlando Health infectious disease specialist. “Beyond that, we don’t know. Natural immunity varies among individuals. Beyond those three months, I’m not really sure how long you’re immune for.”

Lauzardo said this is a frequent excuse for not getting vaccinated among people in their 20s and 30s — an age group that has often been a driver of new infections

According to the CDC, experts don’t yet know how long immunity lasts in people who recovered from the virus, though there are some instances of somebody being infected with COVID-19 multiple times. in

Central

Florida.

I’m pregnant, or plan to be one day, and am worried the vaccines could cause fertility problems: There’s no evidence at this point that any of the COVID-19 vaccines will cause issues with pregnancy or fertility.

“There is currently no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination causes any problems with pregnancy, including the development of the placenta,” a CDC fact sheet reads. “In addition, there is no evidence that fertility problems are a side effect of any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines.”

Fertility questions are a common reason for vaccine hesitancy in various efforts, Sanchez said, reiterating the CDC’s message that there is no evidence the

COVID-19 vaccines could lead to problems with pregnancies.

“There’s no evidence of that at all,” Lauzardo said. “It’s being studied further. But thousands of pregnant women have gotten the vaccine who didn’t know they were pregnant and are doing fine. And we know COVID does cause a problem.”

Sanchez said pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are at greater risk, bolstering the argument for vaccination.

“There is a very real risk for people who are pregnant with COVID, in fact, they are…more likely to die,” Sanchez said.

A study published in April by JAMA Pediatrics found that pregnant women were 22 times more likely to die with COVID-19.

And then the conspiracy theories: Not only is Bill Gates not injecting you with a microchip disguised as vaccination, but nobody is. Another dark conspiracy surrounding the vaccine has been that it will lead you to become sick with the virus — which also isn’t true.

No live virus was used in producing the shot. The side effects many have experienced, including short-lived flu-like symptoms, are the result of your body evoking an immune response to the vaccine.

“If your body develops an immune response to vaccination, which is the goal, you may test positive on some antibody tests,” according to the CDC. “Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus.”

The CDC also says that the vaccines won’t alter DNA. Basically, the vaccines “deliver instructions (genetic material) to our cells to start building protection against the virus that causes COVID19. However, the material never enters the nucleus of the cell, which is where DNA is kept.”