Vaccine hesitancy might pose threat to efforts for ending COVID-19 pandemic
The findings of a recent study suggested that even though the demand for COVID-19 vaccines currently seems to be high, hesitancy towards it might pose a major threat to public health efforts for ending the pandemic.
The findings of a recent study suggested that even though the demand for COVID-19 vaccines currently seems to be high, hesitancy towards it might pose a major threat to public health efforts for ending the pandemic.
“Vaccine hesitant people are targeted by anti-vaxxers and ridiculed by some health care providers.” Broniatowski said, “They are therefore doubly at risk.”
How can vaccine hesitancy be addressed?
Broniatowski co-authored the editorial with Professor Heidi J. Larson, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“Messages about vaccines must be delivered in a way that is empathetic to avoid stigmatising people who have questions about the vaccine. Particularly in the context of Covid-19, with all its uncertainties, people need to be reassured, and feel that their concerns are heard,” Larson said.
Larson concluded, “And, if there is one thing we have learned in all our research, people’s concerns can change. Listening needs to be ongoing.”