Understanding the Hesitant
By: Nayeli Delatorre & Giovanni Soto Trujillo
“Can I see proof that you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19?”
The question, a friendly greeting to Tony Becerra, 27, lingered in the air as the young receptionist patiently sat across the brown rustic visitor’s check-in counter of the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.
“Or instead, I can take proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Just as long as it was administered no more than 72 hours from your visit,” suggested the receptionist through a double mask.
Becerra, hesitant to respond, knew then that because of his unvaccinated status and unknowing of recent health orders he would not be allowed into the facility to visit his stepsister who had been hospitalized for the past four days. For Becerra and many other Americans, what once felt like an individual freedom now feels like one has limited choices if one wants to operate in society being unvaccinated.
Even with the science being clear that vaccines are a safe and effective way to combat serious illness, a vast majority of the U.S. population is still hostile towards the COVID-19 vaccination.
As of December 4, 2021, 70.9% of the total population in the United States has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While this achievement led to tremendous declines in COVID-19 cases and deaths, vaccination coverage still remains unequal throughout the country. With the continued spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, unvaccinated people remain at an increased risk of infection and illness.
Across the media, health practitioners have vocally repeated that the risk of experiencing severe side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine are slim in contrast to the disease itself. Yet, a fairly large number of Americans are still reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to ongoing research from the Kaiser and Family Foundation.
John Hopkins Medicine shared 12 facts and insights about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine directed towards those hesitating about their decision. One of the facts being that people of color are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
“People of color are vulnerable to COVID-19 risk factors, and are more likely to be working front-line, essential jobs that cannot be performed from home, increasing their chances of being infected,” said Sherita Golden, vice president and chief diversity officer at John Hopkins Medicine.
Other reasons to encourage vaccination included the safety of the vaccine (even with its quick development), the vaccine being added protection if you were already infected by the virus, and side effects are only being temporary.
The SAGE (Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization) is charged with advising the WHO (World Health Organization) on overall global policies and strategies, including vaccines. They developed a diagram called the “Three C’s Model” that identifies why people are vaccine hesitant. The three C’s are confidence, complacency, and convenience.
Someone who is complacent does not deem the vaccine necessary and is focused on other life/health responsibilities that they perceive as more important. Another reason why someone is vaccine hesitant is because it’s convenient to them. This could be that it isn’t physically available, not affordable, or too far to travel to get it. Lastly, someone who is vaccine hesitant could simply lack confidence, in both the vaccine and the experts behind the scenes.
In American history this isn’t anything new. The COVID-19 pandemic reignited the debate over public health and individual liberties that goes back since colonial times. For as long as vaccines have existed people have always been hesitant of the shots and those who administer them. In the 1720s, the first vaccination for smallpox was distributed in America. Citizens viewed the vaccine as an opposition to God’s will and some even threw bombs into the houses of pro vaxxers.
Today, the conversation of vaccine hesitancy has become somewhat of a culture war on social media. Online commentators notoriously label those who are vaccine hesitant as being ignorant or selfish. However, medical decision making argues the choices of these individuals are a result of complex factors that need to be analyzed and addressed sensitively if the nation wants to achieve herd immunity.
“FDA approved doesn’t mean anything to me. I’ll wait a year or two and take my non high risk category chances and see if any lawsuits pop up,” said Becerra.
Becerra falls among the population of people who are considering vaccination but they’re unsure if they want it or not. These groups of people are a lot more commonly found as opposed to those who engage in concrete denial.
The global average represents the 14 countries outside the United States where Morning Consult is tracking vaccine sentiment.
An estimated 27% of U.S adults express their concerns about getting their immunizations, according to a recent survey by the Morning Consult. It’s worth noting that most people who are vaccine hesitant, are still interested in immunization, but are not too sure whether they want to go ahead with it. The Morning Consult, an intelligence company that specializes in online survey research, explains primary factors of side effects, and the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccines went through clinical trials is what’s driving skepticism among these adults.
For most it’s a matter of trust. “I just don’t trust the government and I honestly feel they have long manipulated COVID-19 case numbers,” said Becerra.
He is not alone. Americans’ trust in the federal government has reached near historic lows, according to research from the Pew Research Center. This lack of general trust is now hurting the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Being able to trust the government in providing accurate and reliable information about the coronavirus is one of the key variables over a person’s vaccination status. Fueling the mistrust, is the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 itself and its vaccine. Social media and the polarization of news outlets have both contributed to an environment that enables misinformation to spread easier than ever before.
“I think now it’s just a matter of when.” said Becerra regarding changing his vaccination status.
With COVID-19 misinformation being so widespread, individuals are faced with a challenge determining whether or not they believe these myths to be true or not. About six in ten adults have heard that the government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 deaths by counting deaths due to other factors as coronavirus deaths, according to the KFF COVID-19 vaccine monitor. Other commonly heard myths are that the vaccine contains a microchip, can cause infertility, including links to autism disorder. Although these links have been disproven many are still skeptic. In order to effectively improve vaccine acceptance one must promote accurate education and example. Practicing media literacy when coming across information on the internet can best help one’s ability to recognize fake news. The World Health Organization, the PolitiFact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Pediatrics websites are all reliable resources for objective, fact-based, and verified vaccine information.
It’s not productive to shame the hesitant. Becerra is not alone. Rather, it is completely normal to be a bit worried about vaccinations. Speaking with one’s doctor is an effective way to address any concerns over the COVID-19 vaccine as they are best positioned to discuss one’s personal health care concerns.
The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine hosted a Q&A webinar in which two experts answered questions and gave advice on overcoming vaccine hesitancy and its communication issues.
Emily K. Brunson, associate professor at Texas State University, says that people have adopted a “wait and see” attitude in response to their concerns. She said a common reason for vaccine hesitancy is the mistrust in the safety of the vaccine from how quickly it was developed.
“In some cases, these questions are accompanied by a mistrust of medicine, public health, and government more generally,” said Brunson.
She says that when communicating vaccine efficacy, communicators must pay close attention to the different concerns of particular communities, and be sensitive when discussing the reasons for these concerns.
Communication between public health officials and the general public is significant when trying to close the gap in percentages of vaccination status. Baruch Fischhoff, Howard Heinz University Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, is not concerned with what’s being communicated, but how it’s being communicated.
“Were members of diverse communities consulted before message design began, to ensure its relevance and secure their trust? Did messages undergo at least minimal testing? Did the messages respect the constraints on recipients’ lives — finances, work schedules, transportation, child and elder care responsibilities, etc. — and not ask them to do the impossible?” said Fischhoff during the webinar when asked what kind of messages need to be relayed differently.
One of the biggest methods of communication today is social media. Two of the biggest groups of people on social media are teens and young adults, age groups who hold relatively low vaccination rates as opposed to older age groups.
According to data from the CDC, less than 60% of people aged 18–24 are vaccinated. This means that 40% of that age group either lacks access to the vaccine or is vaccine hesitant.
“I haven’t gotten vaccinated because my body already had the virus,” said 20-year-old sophomore Bryan Zaragoza, a student at California State University, Long Beach.
Zaragoza is both a student and works part-time at a Sam’s Club making fresh squeezed orange juice. He contracted the virus during the summer of 2020, and fortunately recovered in approximately two weeks. He has stayed unvaccinated ever since. He believes his body has developed an immunity to the virus since he already was infected by it once.
“I’m not a scientist, but this happens all the time when people get sick,” said Zaragoza, “I know a lot of people who got sick from covid and stayed healthy after recovering and not getting the vaccine, like my dad.”
Vaccine hesitancy is an issue that needs to be overcome if we as a society plan to achieve herd immunity, when a large portion of a population gets vaccinated in order to prevent transmission. It varies from virus to virus, and experts are still unsure how many people need to get vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity for COVID-19. Some experts estimate a percentage as high as 90%, according to Dr. Ashley Drews, medical director of infection prevention and control at Houston Methodist.
Another reason for people to get vaccinated is the emergence of COVID-19 variants. The Delta variant has dominated infection rates for the past few months. The appearance of the new Omicron variant in the U.S. has sparked concerns with health officials, although they are unsure if it is a more transmissible or more severe variant as opposed to Delta, according to the latest data from the WHO.
It is a battle fought together. In a conjoined effort community leaders, government officials, and citizens play an important role in addressing COVID-19 vaccine access and uptake across different states and even more where confidence is fairly low.
People Interviewed:
Tony Becerra, Frito-Lay Truck Driver
Wed. October 27, 2021; Manta Coffee Co, Azusa CA
Interview conducted by Nayeli Delatorre
Bryan Zaragoza, Sam’s Club employee
Wed. November 10, 2021; Carson, CA
Interview conducted by Giovanni Soto
Contributions:
Nayeli Delatorre
In this investigative story I interviewed our story’s source Tony Becerra. In writing the story I did my best effort to uncover the many reasons why much of the U.S. population is vaccine hesitant- specifically to the COVID-19 vaccine. I showcased Becerra’s personal experience to voice one perspective and attitude to spotlight the reasoning behind someone who is vaccine hesitant. I also contributed to the data research talked about throughout the story. I analyzed and included data from the CDC, research from the Kaiser and Family Foundation, and online survey research from the Morning Consult. To the best of my abilities, I contributed to each aspect of the rubric. As for multimedia, I included the line chart from the Morning Consult and will in the final multimedia piece include portrait photographs of Tony Becerra.
Giovanni Soto
I interviewed our story’s source Bryan Zaragoza. I crowdsourced people on the internet to find people who had compelling information to add to the story. He was in an age group that mattered to our story and contained an unvaccinated status. I also added different quotes from archived articles regarding vaccine hesitancy. These sources included experts that help contribute important facts and information about COVID-19 and communicating vaccine hesitancy. I also included the information about the three C’s model, as well as the diagram, and the bar graph of the vaccinated age groups.
