Covid Vaccination Reluctance

The widespread deployment of the Covid vaccines has been seen by many as a lifeline back to ‘normal’. But it’s not compulsory and the government can’t make it so. While it’s hailed as the saviour by many, there also remains a great deal of reluctance. Why are some people refusing to be vaccinated and is there anything we can do about it?

Some reasons often given for refusing the vaccine include short development time, rapid approval for its roll-out, lack of confidence in the government and/or the healthcare service, confusion over more than one approved vaccine, and no data around long-term side effects. It doesn’t help that social media spreads false news like wildfire and many people do believe what they read on such platforms. If these push backs are handled properly, and met with scientific reasoning, perhaps there’s a chance that confidence in the vaccine can grow?

We’ve all met people who won’t want the vaccine. But the more people that don’t have it, the less efficacious Covid’s lessening will be. In our work with case management, we deal with carers, clients who are extremely vulnerable and family members, some of who are reluctant to have the vaccine. Carers could be putting all their clients at risk, particularly the more vulnerable. Likewise, clients who aren’t vaccinated pass that same risk to the carers and family, and family members could be leaving their fellow family members, vulnerable or not, open to infection.

How can we counteract vaccination reluctance?

At a local level, it is difficult to overcome vaccine reluctance as much of it is focused on the government. But healthcare professionals can be open and honest about the facts surrounding the vaccines: they would not have been approved by the MHRA if the body wasn’t completely satisfied that sufficient testing had been done and enough trials carried out. The approval process has been much quicker than with many other medicines because of the urgency of the situation, but the same criteria were met as for any other new drugs or vaccines.

Answering questions as honestly as possible is another way to increase trust locally;

• We are not privy to the exact ‘success rate’ but we can see the daily increasing numbers of vaccinations being given and explain how the more that receive the vaccine, the less chance the virus has to spread.
• No vaccine is 100% effective, but this does not make it an ineffective weapon against controlling disease and preventing deaths. Flu vaccines, for instance, are between 40%-60% effective but help save lives.
• Having the vaccine and lessening the risk of Covid reduces the burden on the over-stretched NHS and reduces the health risks and cost of long-term Covid.
• Listen to people’s concerns and don’t be judgemental. But the more we can disprove false information and debunk the myths surrounding the vaccine, the more confidence will grow.

Are there any legal interventions if staff refuse to have the vaccine?

No. The government cannot make it mandatory and as the law stands, it would be discriminatory to refuse to employ someone or fire them on the grounds of refusal to be vaccinated. Employers should keep records of any discussion or communication around the vaccine should an employee claim for unfair dismissal in the future.

There is one employer, Pimlico Plumbers in London, currently attempting to change employee contracts to state they must be vaccinated. Employment lawyers think this is unlikely to be allowed in court, because of the risks it carries for the business, but the business owner is adamant and is willing to do all he can to make the change. If he is successful, it will certainly set a precedent for other companies to do the same.

Without a doubt, the vaccination debate is proving as divisive as Brexit, so we can only hope that as time goes one, numbers of infections continue to fall, more scientific evidence is shared and the reluctant ones realise it is the only way to get back a semblance of normality.