Vaccine Hesitancy

According to a recent Pew Research Report, 39% of people questioned “definitely or probably would not get a coronavirus vaccine,” and only 37% are comfortable enough to be first in line to get the vaccine. Everyone has to make their own personal decision and that decision is based on facts, but also on emotions, worldviews, and values. Nurses General Nursing Article

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What’s behind the reluctance to take the Covid-19 vaccine? Anti-vaccination sentiment is nothing new. There are many reasons, including fringe conspiracies. The surrealness of our lives in 2020, a lack of hard information, skepticism and social media all gave rise to waves of conspiracies. 

One such conspiracy claims the vaccine contains microchips designed to alter our DNA and track our whereabouts. It even implicated Bill Gates in the narrative. But conspiracists and Covid-deniers are a small minority, as are ardent anti-vaxxers such as those who believe childhood vaccinations cause autism.

But now there’s a new group, who are neither conspiracists nor anti-vaxxers. To some, it’s a paradox that this group includes healthcare workers.

Anti-Covid-19 vaxxers

“I’m not an anti-vaxxer, but…”

The new group is anti-Covid-19 vaxxers. 

Reasons for Reluctance

It feels scary to inject an unknown substance into our bodies. Proponents are saying it’s safe now, but it’s understandable to worry about what’s as yet unknown.

Fear of adverse effects 

Some are not sure how the vaccine may affect their future fertility. Some say they do not want to be guinea pigs but might feel more comfortable in a few months after watching others and with real-world proof. Some believe the vaccine could cause future disease. It’s important for reporting agencies to be transparent about side effects.

Misinformation

One fear, that of being injected with the virus, is based on the understanding that most vaccines contain a version of the same germ or virus that causes the disease. But messenger RNA is not a germ or virus. mRNA teaches our cells to produce an immune response (antibodies).

Lack of information

Some who have been infected already believe it’s not needed because they have antibody protection. It’s not yet known how long antibody protection lasts. Can you be infected more than once? Cases have been recorded.

Novelty and rapid research and development 

Since vaccines typically take years, even decades, to develop, many are concerned at how fast the vaccines were rolled out and do not trust the accelerated process. Was safety compromised? Scientists say no. Researchers leveraged previous vaccine research and had newer technology as well as a lack of financial barriers.

Cultural mistrust of healthcare authorities

Mistrust in Latino and Black communities exists due to historic medical racism. Black males were lied to in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study for over 40 yrs, going back to 1932. 

According to a Pew Research Report here's the breakdown by race of who would definitely or probably get vaccinated:

  • 83% English-speaking Asian Americans 
  • 63% of Hispanic 
  • 61% of White adults. 
  • 42% of Black Americans 

The numbers speak volumes.

Herd immunity: What is it? 

Herd immunity is when a large percent of a population becomes immune to a disease, reducing the chance of person-to-person transmission by reducing the available hosts.

The more contagious a disease is, the more people in the community need immunity. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases, and according to the Mayo Clinic, 94% of the population must be immune, which is the threshold for measles. Polio, smallpox and diphtheria have been contained by herd immunity.

Originally the WHO said 60-70% but Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has recently said herd immunity could take up to 85% vaccine coverage

If entire communities of people refuse the vaccine then theoretically they are susceptible to the disease spreading quickly.  It could predict future hotspots of an outbreak.

However, it has not been proven that the vaccine prevents transmission. It’s possible that immunized people can catch the virus, not become sick, but still pass it on to others.

nurses-against-the-covid-vaccine.jpg.2ff30bc37bb95ebdcd84d56f221cfb9f.jpg

Nurse Responsibility

What is important is that we as clinicians stay informed on the latest vaccine data. Our words and actions carry weight with others. Be a source of credible information, and articulate your point of view.

I am receiving my second dose in days, and it’s a personal risk/benefit decision. I am over 65, work in a hospital, and there’s a good chance I could get very, very sick if infected. 

Be Safe

Finally, be safe. I can’t recall the source, but somewhere in Europe, maybe France, a leader said “pretend you have the virus and act accordingly”  If everyone did that, we could reduce transmission by distancing and masking.

Are you planning to get vaccinated and why or why not?

Best wishes and stay healthy,

Nurse Beth

Author, "First-Year Nurse",  the ultimate insider's guide to helping new nurses succeed while avoiding first-year pitfalls.

References

Herd immunity and COVID-19 (coronavirus): What you need to know. nd. Mayoclinic.org Retrieved January 10 2021.

Funk, Cary. Tyson, Alec.  2020. Intent to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Rises to 60% as Confidence in Research and Development Process Increases. Pewresearch.org Retrieved January 10, 2021.

McNeil Jr., Donald. How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough? 2020. nytimes.org. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

The Tuskegee Timeline. Reviewed 2020.  CDC.gov Retrieved January 10 2021.

Doshi, Peter. Will Covid-19 vaccines save lives? Current trials aren’t designed to tell us. 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.

Youre right the vaccines are different during a pandemic situation. The vaccines were rushed through trials amd given asap (not saying that's bad). We don't know if it is safe and effective in the long term. The mrna vaccines are new and there are no long term studies. If the vaccines are working and are safe in the long term (and short term), it is truly a blessing and amazing what scientists can accomplish. I do encourage my patients to do the right thing, which in my opinion is do what they believe is best for them. If I actually had the ability to persuade anyone to do anything it would be to eat healthy, exercise, take the proper supplements (vit d, c, zinc, and an ionophore (turmeric or quercitin to help zinc get in those cells)) to do more to prevent illness in the 1st place. Unfortunately, all of us are too willing to rely on treatments for illnesses rather than prevention of them.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
On 1/23/2021 at 1:23 PM, Jedrnurse said:

*disagree*

No I put something in here entirely unrelated to the topic.

I got the vaccination w/o hesitancy. First Moderna December. 2nd this Thursday.

I had a mild headache and some light malaise; that's it. I did it w/o worry and am glad for it.

I wish my husband could get it now. He's younger and healthy so it'll be a while yet. I hope by getting it I am protecting him. He's working from home for now.

Specializes in clinic nurse.

@SmilingBluEyes

You will likely feel more after vax #2. ?

Specializes in clinic nurse.
22 minutes ago, EmRN20 said:

Youre right the vaccines are different during a pandemic situation. The vaccines were rushed through trials amd given asap (not saying that's bad). We don't know if it is safe and effective in the long term. The mrna vaccines are new and there are no long term studies. If the vaccines are working and are safe in the long term (and short term), it is truly a blessing and amazing what scientists can accomplish. I do encourage my patients to do the right thing, which in my opinion is do what they believe is best for them. If I actually had the ability to persuade anyone to do anything it would be to eat healthy, exercise, take the proper supplements (vit d, c, zinc, and an ionophore (turmeric or quercitin to help zinc get in those cells)) to do more to prevent illness in the 1st place. Unfortunately, all of us are too willing to rely on treatments for illnesses rather than prevention of them.

Well, again, all I can say is that before vax #1 I was where you are, wondering about the long term effects. I do not know the answer, though I have heard the concern dealt with effectively by researchers who know a lot more than I do. The question you didn't ask is what are the long-term effects of Covid?

40 minutes ago, EmRN20 said:

Youre right the vaccines are different during a pandemic situation. The vaccines were rushed through trials amd given asap (not saying that's bad). We don't know if it is safe and effective in the long term. The mrna vaccines are new and there are no long term studies. If the vaccines are working and are safe in the long term (and short term), it is truly a blessing and amazing what scientists can accomplish. I do encourage my patients to do the right thing, which in my opinion is do what they believe is best for them. If I actually had the ability to persuade anyone to do anything it would be to eat healthy, exercise, take the proper supplements (vit d, c, zinc, and an ionophore (turmeric or quercitin to help zinc get in those cells)) to do more to prevent illness in the 1st place. Unfortunately, all of us are too willing to rely on treatments for illnesses rather than prevention of them.

I think you may be missing the fact that the treatments are extensions, by virtue of intelligence that the body created(brain), in much the same way as the immune system evolves through infections. We use our expertise to create treatments to improve our lives. 

The vaccines themselves are just built upon technology that previously existed and worked successfully. They weren't created from scratch and rushed through. In functioning democracies, protocols are in place to manage the safety of these treatments. 

The whole situation is a guess. We don't really know long term effects of covid or the long term effects of these vaccines. They are both new.

We are amazing creatures that have the brain capability to research, create, and improve our lives through the use of technology. And we can even foresee potential problems to create safety protocols and rules to prevent adverse events. But, we cannot prevent or foresee all problems. Also, we do have some instances where our treatments have caused damage.

All of this is new and I don't pretend or tout that we know everything and everything we are doing or not doing is correct. I'm comfortable with saying "We don't know, yet."

Specializes in school nurse.
1 hour ago, SmilingBluEyes said:

No I put something in here entirely unrelated to the topic.

I got the vaccination w/o hesitancy. First Moderna December. 2nd this Thursday.

I had a mild headache and some light malaise; that's it. I did it w/o worry and am glad for it.

I wish my husband could get it now. He's younger and healthy so it'll be a while yet. I hope by getting it I am protecting him. He's working from home for now.

Gotcha.

I'm advising my supervisors to suggest that not everyone get their shot at the same time- we could have a lot of "under the weather" people calling in at once. Understandable, but a staffing nightmare...

Specializes in Public Health, TB.
5 hours ago, EmRN20 said:

 We don't know if it is safe and effective in the long term. The mrna vaccines are new and there are no long term studies.

If I actually had the ability to persuade anyone to do anything it would be to eat healthy, exercise, take the proper supplements (vit d, c, zinc, and an ionophore (turmeric or quercitin to help zinc get in those cells)) ...

Because of course, you have long range studies demonstrating the effectiveness of Vit. d, c, zinc and an ionophore against COVID 19 infection and serious sequelae.

Tumeric and quercitin have significant drug interactions so I hope when you persuade people to take them that you are cautioning them about this. 

33 minutes ago, nursej22 said:

Because of course, you have long range studies demonstrating the effectiveness of Vit. d, c, zinc and an ionophore against COVID 19 infection and serious sequelae.

Tumeric and quercitin have significant drug interactions so I hope when you persuade people to take them that you are cautioning them about this. 

I was thinking the exact same thing. I agree with the eating healthy and exercise parts and would like to add getting enough sleep. As far as the supplements goes, a healthy diet have most nutrients covered. Quercitin is a plant pigment. I’d choose the plant over a supplement any day. Most of them are quite tasty ?????

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
6 hours ago, JVBT said:

@SmilingBluEyes

You will likely feel more after vax #2. ?

I have heard that from a few people. I took 3 days off after, though, in case. I did not feel great the first shift after my first shot.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
5 hours ago, Jedrnurse said:

Gotcha.

I'm advising my supervisors to suggest that not everyone get their shot at the same time- we could have a lot of "under the weather" people calling in at once. Understandable, but a staffing nightmare...

That is wise. Most people feel under the weather after the shot. Staggering is smart. I felt a "little sick" after mine, but I would not have called out. But then, I have chronic dang near debilitating migraines and work through those. If I took time off every time I felt crummy, I would be off too much and fired! LOL!

Specializes in ICU/ER/Med-Surg/Case Management/Manageme.
6 hours ago, JVBT said:

@SmilingBluEyes

You will likely feel more after vax #2. ?

Why is that?  I had #1 Pfizer last Sunday and not a single thing. Not even soreness at injection site.