Posted on 09/03/2021 9:36:52 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
In between the people strongly for and against vaccines are individuals who carry certain fears and concerns that stop them from getting immunized. And experts believe that with the right approach and the recent full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, many in this group could be moved to get vaccinated.
These "in-betweeners" share two things in common: They have their reasons, and they don't want to be called "anti-vaxxers."
And that's where the similarities of people in this group generally end. Who they are, where they live, and the reasons why they don't want to get vaccinated are as diverse as the regions that make up the U.S.
"Certainly the reasons people are hesitant about the vaccine are many," Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, scientific director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, said during a recent media briefing sponsored by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
Health concerns, a disabling fear of needles, general anxiety, and a historic mistrust of medicine are among the reasons for COVID-19 vaccine reluctance.
Walter A. Orenstein, MD, agreed that "people who are hesitant are a heterogenous group." Although the full approval of the Pfizer vaccine by the FDA could make a difference through reassurance or vaccine mandates, "there are people who are very strongly against getting vaccinated. I don't think they will be impacted that much" by the full licensure.
However, "there is a substantial proportion that has had a wait-and-see attitude. And I'm hoping that they will be willing to get vaccinated now," Orenstein, professor and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta, said during the briefing.
Differences by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials identified lower vaccination rates among some communities of color. A lack of confidence in medicine was a widely cited reason for such vaccine racial disparities.
More recently, investigators in a new study report that vaccine hesitancy among Black people has declined dramatically over the course of the pandemic.
"Our findings point out that the hesitancy among Blacks is largely driven by confidence and circumspection issues but not so much by complacency issues. This means Blacks are hesitant not because they underestimate the risks of COVID-19, but because they have concerns with the effectiveness and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines as well as confidence issues with the system," said Ran Liu, PhD, the lead author of the study.
Liu evaluated nearly 444,000 people who responded to weekly Household Pulse Surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau between January and March 2021. Over 6 weeks, for example, the percentage of Black people with overall hesitancy declined from almost 35% to below 20%. The study appears in the September 2021 issue of SSM Population Health.
On a positive note, "the dramatic decline in vaccine hesitancy among Black people across time shows that we are doing something right this time -- the unprecedented efforts in public communication and federal support could have helped to address some of the concerns across the country," said Liu, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The research also reveals nuanced gender differences. "These results may indicate that women are more likely to adjust their vaccine attitudes according to evolving information and rely less on ideological and political contextual factors than men do," said study co-author Gabriel Miao Li, a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan.
In other words, women might be mainly concerned about the costs, benefits, and risks associated with a particular vaccine. In contrast, men's hesitancy is more likely associated with disbeliefs about the seriousness of COVID-19 or a distrust of vaccines.
A caveat is that gender could intersect with race, class, and other characteristics and social contexts to make things more complex, Liu said.
"It is dangerous to reduce people to one single dimension and develop policies based on that. It is always important to get into the community and listen to people's actual concerns to develop targeted strategies to reduce vaccine hesitancy," he said.
Revelations on Reddit
The internet -- the source of so much dangerous misinformation -- can also provide additional insight into the many reasons regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and to the titanic tug-of-war underway in the U.S. between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
In the Change My View community on Reddit, for example, people challenge others to convince them to switch their views. One recent post proposed that "voluntarily unvaccinated people should be given the lowest priority for hospital beds/ventilators." It drew more than 2,000 comments in its first 3 days.
It would be even more challenging if doctors had to triage people based on culpability instead of clinical severity, one user posted. Another said in many areas with full hospitals, the challenge to prioritize patient care is even greater now. Another pointed out that people "who are not getting a shot are making a choice."
To get a broader view beyond individual viewpoints on Reddit, Arash Shaban-Nejad, PhD, MPH, and colleagues evaluated public sentiment across 13 Reddit community groups focusing on COVID-19 vaccines.
Overall, the researchers found more positive than negative perspectives, a finding that remained relatively steady during their study from Dec. 1, 2020, through May 15, 2021. People more often focused on side effects vs. "outlandish conspiracy theories," they report in their study in the August 2021 Journal of Infection and Public Health.
Although it was not a primary focus, "a closer look into some of the posts and comments does reveal that the undecided exists within these communities to some extent," Shaban-Nejad said.
"Interestingly, one can see some posts where community members express willingness to accept a COVID-19 vaccine but are generally against vaccination, as well as the opposite," said Shaban-Nejad, associate professor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Center for Biomedical Informatics.
Concerns over rapid vaccine production also emerged in the study. Many people who post on Reddit seem unfamiliar with the history of vaccine development, he said. As a result, they "appear to have reservations because they feel like development was rushed in some way."
Bridging the Divide
In terms of solutions, Shaban-Nejad said, "We emphasize the importance of clear, consistent, targeted, unambiguous messaging, which considers differences in populations' dynamics, characteristics, and their nature of concerns."
While not possible for all health care professionals, Ryan Knopp, MD, a family physician in Manhattan, KS, recommends spending as much time as necessary to listen to and address patient concerns. He reported success with this approach on a recent Twitter thread:
"Happy day for me. Several people I care a lot about got the COVID vaccine today, overcoming some hesitancy. What do I say to my patients who are unsure about the vaccine? This:" he wrote, and then outlined his approach to talking with them in subsequent tweets.
Discussing extensive safety data with people who are vaccine-hesitant could be a useful strategy, a national online poll from Morning Consult on behalf of the de Beaumont Foundation indicates. Administered just days before the full Pfizer vaccine approval, 35% of 956 unvaccinated adults indicated the FDA's action would address most or all of their concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Almost 4 in 10 people chose full FDA vaccine approval as their first or second motivating factor. Employer requirements, less testing, access to public events, and encouragement from their children were other factors.
A Role for Well-Informed Providers
Although it remains to be seen if full approval of the Pfizer vaccine will dissipate such concerns, Joseph A. Bellanti, MD, said that a belief in inadequate safety testing has prevented some from getting vaccinated.
Confidence that natural immunity is sufficient for protection and that vaccines are overused or unnecessary are additional drivers of hesitancy, Bellanti said.
Doctors who engage directly with patients, such as allergists and immunologists, can play an essential role in promoting the COVID-19 vaccine to patients, Bellanti said. He outlines effective strategies in an upcoming publication in the September-October Allergy & Asthma Proceedings.
For example, to counter the "diminished level of confidence and trust by segments of the public in the nation's leaders in government, medical and business communities that these groups once enjoyed," he suggested health care professionals engage in a conversation along the lines of shared clinical decision-making.
"Professionals should be pursuing an ongoing dialog that empowers the public to be actively involved in science and medicine as key stakeholders rather than passive recipients," said Bellanti, professor of pediatrics and microbiology-immunology (emeritus) and director of the International Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Immunology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC.
Bellanti's strategies for allergists and immunologists, including a need to stay up to date on the risks of relatively rare vaccine adverse events, "apply to all health care providers," he said.
The liberal definition of well-informed is to do whatever the liberal wants. If you want, you’re not well-informed and, therefore, can be imposed upon.
Here’s what might convince more people to take the Covid vaccine (in my humble opinion ), if they can convincingly present it:
* Emphasizing the trends of more people getting vaccinated and NOT getting any side effects or serious infection.
* Focusing on everyone’s freedom of choice, not coercing people or threatening them with termination of employment or revoking their ability to travel or even eat at restaurants.
* Listening to people’s concerns without judgment
* Offering credible information ( emphasis on CREDIBLE ).
* Correcting myths when necessary.
The likes of Fauci and his ilk need to understand that People develop negative attitudes [about vaccines] by accessing alternative sources of information, anecdotes, and personal stories. If you are going to change their opinion, we need to live in that space.” That means listening first, he says. Ask: “Where did you get that information? How credible do you think the sources are? What do you mean about the vaccine changing DNA?
Then, you might respond, he says, by addressing that specific information, such as, “We have no cases of DNA being changed.”
PERSUASION, NOT COERCION is the key, and unfortunately, the government is doing a poor job with it.
PhD’s.
Many are PhD’s
It would be even more challenging if doctors had to triage people based on culpability instead of clinical severity, one user posted.
Funny.../s
Focusing on everyone’s freedom of choice, not coercing people or threatening them with termination of employment or revoking their ability to travel or even eat at restaurants.
* Listening to people’s concerns without judgment
There....
Well when the even the know all see all “experts” are questioning just how this new sort of vaccine is actually working, perhaps the in-betweens have reason on their side
Canada vaccine panel recommends 4 months between COVID doses
The least informed are the ones who are rushing out to get this. They here the “experts” tell them something so they sheep like line up to obey.
Real thinker start actually digging in and doing research to see what the actual facts are. When you start actually looking at all the information this new sort of vaccine they are using raises some very troubling questions
This is a brand new type of vaccine that has failed every single previous clinical trial. This is not “just a vaccine like for polio or small pox”. And the fact that there is so much exaggerated hype to try and force people to take it raises serious moral and ethical questions about the people pushing this.
I think apologies from liberals for lying about the vaccine, just to get rid of Trump, would go a long way.
It’s surprising how many liberals thought that lying about the vaccine, just to hurt Trump, was not supposed to have any consequences attached to that.
Remember too long before COVID many anti vaxxers were leftists. They opposed vaccinating children for smallpox, polio, tetanus MMR etc claiming they cause autism. Many celebs among them. Such as Jenny McCarthy when she realized her quasi porn career jumped the shark. Alec Baldwin when he wasn’t preoccupied with emotionally abusing his step daughter or picking fights with photographers. Alicia Silverstone the vegan popsicle stick who’s got a side hustle pushing organic all natural health and beauty products that make claims that are dubious to say the least. To get vaxxed or not is a PERSONAL CHOICE. We have a right to informed consent and to exercise due diligence before making that decision.
1) It has too many dangerous side effects and people are getting sick and dying from these emergency vaccines.
2) I already contracted Chinese Flu / Covid 19 in Feb. of 2020 and survived.
3) All three of the main vaccines were created using aborted baby tissues with is a VERY BIG NO as a Catholic Christian.
4) The lies from so many information sources trying to FORCE people to get it. It should be voluntary and forcing it is unconstitutional.
The CDC
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/understanding-vacc-work.html
Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines
mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases.
So we suppose to just believe a brand new type of vaccine, with of history of failing clinical trials, magically came out perfectly with no flaws right out the gate. That this magically happened for the 1st time in medical history with these vaccines?
This despite the fact that, until they could make billions of dollars using it as a “fix” for Covid, this type of vaccine had been passed by as unsafe?
For decades, scientists have dreamed about the seemingly endless possibilities of custom-made messenger RNA, or mRNA.
Researchers understood its role as a recipe book for the body's trillions of cells, but their efforts to expand the menu have come in fits and starts. The concept: By making precise tweaks to synthetic mRNA and injecting people with it, any cell in the body could be transformed into an on-demand drug factory.
But turning scientific promise into medical reality has been more difficult than many assumed. Although relatively easy and quick to produce compared to traditional vaccine-making, no mRNA vaccine or drug has ever won approval.
I was born in the morning.
It was not however THIS morning
I would not take it if they said it made you poop gold nuggets.
My trust in government and the medical establishment is now evaporated.
AJ had Dr. Dan Scott on today. He goes through it and explains the fraud they committed in the trials. Scott was the doctor who lectured that school board awhile back. Teaser: Nobody died of Covid in the placebo group during the trials, unlike the vaccinated group.
Advance to about the 15 minute mark.
Can anyone point me to somewhere in the USA where one can get the FDA approved covid vax???
You know, it would be the one where Pfizer would incur liability if the approved vaccine harms you?
Saying “It’s just the same as this one here that is under emergency use authorization” is like saying “This new car has an unlimited warranty but you can’t buy it...we do however have this identical car for sale with no warranty whatsoever”
Hmmmm..
If the government and pharma make claims of efficacy and safety then why won’t anyone put their fortune at risk if people are harmed....
My hunch is if Pfizer was liable, even for a nominal amount, like say 100k per person, they would not sell the vaccine..
I’m not saying that the vaccine is no good at all, I’m saying that if nobody will stand behind it then perhaps they have no faith in its safety?
So many lies told by so many on both sides...
Just a thought, perhaps the best that could be done at this time would be to endeavor to produce the massive amounts of monoclonal antibody infusion medication that it would require to infuse all of the most at-risk, every few months, until a proper vaccine can be created and tested...
But, are there enough white mice on the planet to harvest such a huge amount of antibody infusion product?
WebMD is basically nothing but a propaganda arm.
“Can anyone point me to somewhere in the USA where one can get the FDA approved covid vax”???
That’s right. WebMD is lying because there is no approved vax in use.
Thank you
That we live in a time where a nation can effectively end a crisis, but a substantial portion actively choose not to because of institutional distrust and misinformation, is astounding and extremely interesting
Another question to answer
Not even the CDC argue that 100% vaccination is a necessity. Their argument is It will help prevent you from getting Covid. If you do get Corvid the vac will help you get less sick and require less hospitalizations.
So if you get the jabs and are supposedly “safe” now, why all the high pressure sales to get other people to take it?
Using murdered babies for a shot that does nothing but possibly kill you, is against everything I believe in. I am one who thinks Texas new abortion law doesn’t go far enough
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