Distrust of the coronavirus vaccine can endanger widespread immunity

Almost every day, President Trump and leaders around the world say they are probably the most urgent mission in medical history, competing to develop a coronavirus vaccine. However, the near-miracle rate of recurring guarantees exacerbates problems that have largely gone unnoticed, and the problem that public health professionals now need to work on convinces people to actually fire. Is to do.

More and more polls say no one is vaccinated against coronavirus vaccines, which can jeopardize the chances of stopping a pandemic. Distrust of the virus is particularly prominent in the African-American community and is overly destroyed by the virus. But even the obstinate proponents of vaccination say they are wary of the vaccine.

“The bottom line is that I don’t believe the FDA or the Trump administration at all.” Joanne Burns, a retired fourth grade teacher from Fairbanks, Alaska, says he’s always up to date. .. Shots that include shingles, flu and pneumonia. “I feel very rushed to get the vaccine, so I’m very hesitant.”

There is growing distrust of vaccines in the US In recent years, sentiment that resists classification by political party, educational background, or socioeconomic demographics. I’m a fan of a handful of celebrities. But now, the anti-vaccine group is completely attracting a new type of customer.

Jackie Schlegel, founder of Texans for Vaccine Choice seeking school vaccination, said membership in her group has skyrocketed since April. “Our phone is weakening relationships with people who say, “I got all the vaccines, but I can’t.” “”How can I opt out?”, she said, often having to guarantee the caller, “They won’t force you home.”

A time-consuming process for safe and effective development Vaccines usually take 10 yearsSome take much longer. But Trump’s administration Once he was an outspoken vaccine skeptics,Recently, The coronavirus vaccine may be ready this fall. While certain traditional barriers such as financing have been removed, many experts still believe that the proposed timeline may be overly optimistic.

But whenever a coronavirus vaccine is approved, Initial demand was expected to far exceed supply.. The need to establish a foundation of trust in it has been overlooked and not addressed.

Early this month, A national task force of 23 epidemiologists And vaccine behavior experts said that such research was urgent, and published a detailed report that received little attention in itself. Operation Warp Speed, a $10 billion public-private partnership that drives the bulk of vaccine research, is based on the persuasive, unfounded premise that “if we build it, they will come.” I am writing.”

In fact, wrote a group led by researchers Johns Hopkins Center Department of Anthropology, Texas State University: “If the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the United States is poorly designed and implemented, there will be an increasing need for vaccines and public health authorities that recommend them, especially among those at highest risk of Covid. It can undermine increasingly believable beliefs. 19 impact.”

Researchers point out that billions of dollars are devoted to biomedical research for vaccines, but there seems to be virtually no funding available for social scientists to investigate hesitation about vaccines. did. The authors said a focus group that should help identify the most effective message to counter opposition forces should be launched immediately.

The current political and cultural turmoil caused by the Trump administration’s frequent neglect of scientific expertise only amplifies the diverse bases of vaccine skepticism. They include the terrible legacy of federal medical experiments against African Americans and other disadvantaged groups. Distrust of Big Pharma. Resistance to government mandates such as school vaccination requirements; compliance with homeopathy and other “natural” medications. And a collection of apocalyptic beliefs and conspiracy theories, especially around Covid-19, sometimes perpetuated by celebrities, and more recently Kanye West.

“Vaccination and paralysis are caused by many of our children.” He told Forbes this month. “So when they say that the way we fix Covid is a vaccine, I’m very cautious. That’s the mark of the beast.”

May voting Associated Press Research Center It turns out that only about half of Americans said they would gladly get the coronavirus vaccine. One in five said they refused and 31% were uncertain. Voting in late June by Miami University researchers Said 22% of white and Latin respondents and 42% of black respondents agreed with the statement. “Coronavirus is used to force Americans to take dangerous and unwanted vaccines.”

“The issue of trust is huge in the black community,” said member Edith Perry. Maryland Community Research Advisory BoardIt aims to ensure that the benefits of health research encompass black and Latino communities.

She said the solution was not just to adopt the traditional strategy of meeting with the congregations of the Black Church, especially if the government and vaccine producers wanted to reach the millennial generation.

“The pharmaceutical industry will have to convince some of the youth of Black Lives Matter,” Mrs. Perry said. “Raise your hand. Say,’Sorry. We need your help to get it right, because we know what’s wrong.” We need a vaccine, blacks and Hispanics. Because it is necessary to participate in the system. “

Chatting at The Shop Spa, a large barber shop with black and Latin customers in Hyattsville, MD, highlights the challenge. The manager, Mike Brown, has staff trained to talk about wellness with clients. The infamous Tuskegee experiment, And “hope they won’t interfere with us again.”

He said his clients and their families are still dissatisfied with the drug company. “It’s hard to believe they want our happiness,” he continued. “I’m very skeptical of that shot. I have my popcorn and soda, and I look at it very carefully.”

The new report on vaccine credibility includes information from epidemiologists and health inequality and communication experts. The overarching recommendation is that public health agencies should listen to community concerns early in the process, rather than directing them high after the fact. You need to find a trusted community leader and communicate people’s uncertainty about research transparency, access, quotas, and costs. These representatives can then become revered providers of updates to combat what the World Health Organization calls the “infodemics” of vaccine misinformation.

The strongest recommendation was for the color community. The authors called for vaccines to be provided free of charge and available in accessible neighborhoods such as churches, pharmacies, barbershops, and schools. Researchers note the emergence of vaccines, especially when protests about systemic racism in health care are on the rise, and that vaccines continue to cause anxiety if accessibility is perceived as unjustified. I warned that it might become a point. And that perception may increase distrust of the vaccine.

At a recent hearing in the SenateDr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was repeatedly asked about plans to address the rising hesitation of vaccines. He argued that discussions were ongoing for “10-12 weeks.” A CDC spokesman declined to elaborate after repeated requests from the New York Times.

Emily Branson, Texas State University medical anthropologists combine a myriad of reasons why people may be skeptical of this vaccine with the vast and constant reach of Covid-19 itself to campaign for the acceptance of the vaccine. It will be much more difficult to create, than it is for more narrow groups — shingles vaccines for the elderly, HPV vaccines for minors. The researchers said that national promotion strategies should be in the planning stage as soon as possible.

Overall, there is a rush to worry consistently caused by those who are hesitant about this vaccine. As health authorities repeatedly advertise the speed of development-the idea highlighted under the name Warp Speed ​​Operations-inadvertently exacerbates public safety concerns.

“If you’re smart, you’re worried we couldn’t get the vaccine, and if you’re smart, we probably move very fast and we I’m worried I’ll accept a risk level that I don’t know, I usually don’t.” Sandra clausquin, Professor of Public Health, University of Maryland.

Health communication experts say that those trying to persuade vaccinated people to be vaccinated should not dismiss them as “anti-boxers”, which is an insult and interrupts the conversation. I will.

“You must always listen to their concerns,” said Dr. Quinn, Senior Associate Director, Health Center, Maryland.

Last week, a non-profit public health initiative, Public goods projects, Introduction StrongerA campaign to combat false information about the vaccine, contains many tips, including a list of established scientists to follow on Twitter.

Dr. Quinn says one path to increasing vaccination acceptance is to resort to the innate altruism of people. “It’s not just for you that you can get a vaccine. It’s to protect your grandmother with diabetes and immunologically deficient Uncle Shaun,” she said.

And when people responded by enumerating objections to the vaccine, asking them, she said, “If you think so, how do you protect your community?”