Why many Americans and even healthcare workers refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19
'17.08.2021'
Nurgul Sultanova-Chetin
Several COVID-19 vaccines have now been approved in the world, but despite the raging pandemic, not everyone is in a hurry to get vaccinated. Especially often you can hear the refusal from the workers of medical institutions. Today we decided to collect explanations of why health workers refuse the vaccine. The publications told about them Modern healthcare и Fox8Live.
Like we're a bunch of guinea pigs
Fox8 Live asked people why they doubted the COVID-19 vaccine, and here are the answers it received from US citizens:
“They made the vaccine like yesterday, and now they're like, let's just make it look like we're all a bunch of guinea pigs,” said New Orleans resident Camilla Dobbins. “I work in a hospital, so I have no choice. I am immersed in this, but even in this situation, I can understand the reasons for the doubts of people. I don't even like getting the flu shot every year because I don't feel well after it. "
Chances are, there is someone around you - be it a close friend or maybe even a family member - who doesn't want to get vaccinated. Doctors say they are hearing a number of reasons why people are not getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I know people who are vaccinated, but still get the virus, so I don’t understand the purpose of vaccination,” said one of the patients.
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"Research on vaccines is not enough yet," said another patient.
"People are increasingly showing anti-scientific thinking"
“It seems that many people are increasingly showing anti-scientific thinking. It can make a person afraid to follow the recommendations of doctors, ”said Dr. Ran Bailey, head of the department of psychiatry at LSU Health.
He said that this way of thinking is problematic for many reasons. One of them is the ease of spreading misinformation, which makes people distrust science.
“You have to convey information, educate the community and make people not be afraid of medical information and recommendations,” the doctor said.
Dr. Bailey emphasized that prevention works best, there is no need to wait until "you get sick, and then take a pill so that the disease completely disappears."
Allison Guste, associate vice president of clinical and operational improvement at LCMC Health, said the question of why people refuse vaccinations is difficult to answer.
“We see all kinds of reasons why people don't get vaccinated,” Guste said.
The most common reasons she hears from patients:
- The COVID vaccine will change my DNA
"The vaccine never gets into the nucleus of cells, and this is where our DNA is stored, and this is the scientific reason why we can debunk this myth," the doctor said.
- The vaccine will cause infertility
“So the scientific evidence tells us no. There is no risk of reduced fertility or miscarriage due to the COVID-19 vaccine, ”said Guste. She stressed that there is currently no information or scientific evidence to confirm that the COVID-19 vaccine causes any fertility problems.
“There is no evidence that fertility problems in men or women can be due to vaccinations,” she explained.
- The speed with which the vaccine was developed, I doubt. The same reason is common among health workers who refused to be vaccinated.
- I will wait while the others are vaccinated and take advantage of herd immunity
Vaccine preventable diseases are spread from person to person. Therefore, herd immunity does not guarantee that you or your unvaccinated relatives are safe from infection.
- I already had COVID, so I am protected
“Even if you have had COVID-19 before, there is no exact data on how long your natural immunity will last,” Guste said. - We see that people who have had COVID earlier can become infected with coronavirus again, so it is important for them to get vaccinated too. We think vaccine immunity lasts longer than natural immunity. ”
The most common reasons for refusing vaccination among health workers
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