https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2020/11/30/katy-milkman-on-how-to-nudge-people-to-accept-a-covid-19-vaccine
According to Katy Milkman, a catastrophe will unfold if too many people reject immunization.
With the end of covid-19 being in sight as effective vaccines move closer to approval, society is faced with yet another challenge: encouraging people to take the vaccine for this disease. It is estimated that around 60-80% of the people will need to have taken the vaccine for the U.S to reach herd immunity, however, this past September only 51% of Americans said they would take a covid-19 vaccine when one became available. Two distinct problems must be overcome. First, people who aren't ideologically opposed to vaccines must be strongly encouraged. Second, we need to ensure that people are willing to follow through. As for the anti-vaxxers, they make up a small proportion of the population and can reasonably be written off.
There have been many suggestions as to how these problems can be solved. Relying on information, transparency, and encouragement is only the start. Researchers show that people look to their peers for cues on how to behave, therefore the focus must be on emphasizing wide support for the vaccine to those who are on the fence about it rather than the naysayers through public messaging. Moreover, it is also important to make those who have been vaccinated visible to the public to spur others to follow suit. It has also been suggested that those hesitant about the vaccine could be incentivized through traditional mechanisms of mandates and rewards. Requiring students and health care workers would not only follow precedent (influenza), but would also protect them and build community-vaccination norms.
There are still many issues that must be resolved before the vaccine is released and a solution to this problem will not only require due diligence but also a little creativity. Nonetheless, the biochemist have completed their work, now it is time for the behavioural scientist to shine. What are your thoughts regarding the vaccine? If not enough people accept to be immunized, the vaccine will be pointless and we will still be stuck with covid. We have already tried lockdowns, and it has proven to be ineffective as people simply do not listen. But, should we as people have to put our long term health at risk by taking a rushed vaccine?
6 comments:
It is interesting to hear that herd immunity could be achieved if only 60-80% of the population receives the vaccine. This number is lower than I thought and gives me hope that this phenomenon could be achieved by the Spring or Summer months. While it is understandable to worry about anti-vaxxers, I think the biggest problem is distributing the vaccine to everyone willing to take it. Given this is the majority of the population, this will be a greater challenge than anything else. As long as people willing to take the vaccine are able to, they will be protected against Covid and do not have to worry about the actions of those not willing to take the vaccine.
I agree with Max that now that the vaccine has been more or less developed, the new great challenge is effectively distributing it across the globe. One aspect that could be promising in encouraging most people to take the vaccine will be who receives the vaccine first. The CDC has recommended that front-line health care workers and those in long term living facilities receive doses first. As people see these trusted people take and accept the vaccine, it may give them more confidence in its effectiveness. Those who may be skeptical will hopefully follow those before them, helping to bring life back to a sense of normalcy.
i have always though that the hardest part of the vaccine development was going to be convincing people that it is safe and I will be honest I definitely will not be the first in line for the fist batch of vaccines. This will be a great challenge to make people feel safe about a new vaccine, especially since many people are still skeptical about provenly safe vaccines
I agree that I expected the herd immunity numbers to be higher, but I think it is possible we could reach 60%. I personally support vaccinations, but I am more concerned with the testing time associated with this one. Do you think this vaccine could become mandatory at some point like the polio vaccine?
Herd immunity is a very interesting topic. I think it will take more than 60% to reach good levels. However, in my opinion, reaching 60% will also be very hard with people being on the edge as well as distribution-related issues. However, globalization in today's days and age matters a lot. The U.S is a country that hosts so many people coming in from abroad every single day. So, as long as global vaccination is not achieved little can be said about how effective this whole process is going to be.
Post a Comment