“Understanding the reasons  behind of Covid Vaccine Hesitation”

Would people be willing to vaccinate themselves if a terrible illness swept the globe and a vaccine appeared to protect everyone? This is a question that our twenty-first-century world is grappling with right now. In the late months of 2019, SAR-Covid-19 was detected as an epidemic in Wuhan, China. While individuals in other nations worriedly watched on television, they had no clue that the outbreak would quickly spread over the world. While some people cheered on the production of the vaccine development, others were skeptical of  a vaccine-needed future. The skeptical groups expressed the lacksafety of the vaccination, arguing that it was developed far too quickly, and carelessly. However, health professionals tried to pursue the skeptical citizens which publications of scientific trials and data. 

To begin with, the COVID-19 pandemic was a terrifying circumstance for many people, resulting in widespread panic and unanswered questions. It was a situation about which the rest of the world understood little, and the leaders of the countries were under pressure to clarify the situation. While each country dealt with the new epidemic in its own way, America’s reaction inevitably led to a nationwide lockdown. Work, education, and recreational activities all came to a halt. While many businesses and services shuttered their doors, others went the online route. Many people were unsure about what to do next in this new and perplexing scenario. People were terrified, unprepared, and unsure. “In COVID-19 vaccination communication, emotion may be used” (Chou, Budnez, 2020, para.10). For many people, emotional sentiments took precedence over logical and rational reasoning as a result of a new situation. Panic and fear were the most common emotions experienced by many. Such feelings influenced many decisions, resulting in America’s problematic toilet paper crisis. As a result, when a vaccine was introduced—another novel and frightening concept for some—the reaction was not necessarily positive.

Still, vaccine hesitant residents were determined that the status of the covid vaccine was unsafe. Much of the reasonings of vaccine hesitation stems from uncertainty, the lack of trust in science and government, as well emotional drawbacks.

Because the pandemic created a turmoil to many people’s life and mental well being. The introduction of something new may receive varying reactions. The news of the legal production of Pfizer’s covid vaccine was a big change in the pandemic. In some people, they simply cannot handle too many big news all at once because of the emotional distress it entails. Antivax communities also fueled people’s uncertainty by posting false informations regarding the vaccines such as side effects of paralyzation.

Although there may still be people hesitant of getting the covid vaccine, we now have more information of how vaccinations helps the herd immunity that we are trying to achieve. Covid cases have drastically dropped since the mass vaccine mandates set in place. Now, even with lifted mask mandates in some states, covid cases are at a steadily lower rate than what they were prior vaccinations.

Nonetheless, numerous conductions of research have proven the Covid vaccines to be safe for general public use. The first FDA-approved vaccine was developed by Pfizer-Biotech which rarely causes adverse side effects in healthy people. Like any other medical solution, the vaccine is not one size fits all. Small groups of people who cannot receive the vaccine include people who are allergic to the ingredients or have adverse side effects to mRNA vaccinations. Based on scientific expertise, the United States government announced vaccination as the ultimate solution to the end of covid. The conclusion was determined based on the herd immunity concept. Herd immunity is defined as immunity to a virus or disease as a major population. While the concept may be new to some, examples of Herd immunity already exist in the  United States due to vaccination requirements. Smallpox and Polio were once culprits of pandemics, which were then combated by the production of its vaccine development. To continue herd immunity against these diseases, it is required for everyone to get the vaccines starting at only a few months of age. Most children are fully vaccinated against disease when they are eleven to twelve years old. In regards to the coronavirus, herd immunity could go two ways- allow Americans to spread the virus and infect one another in hopes of results of long-lasting immunity; or, a mass-mandated vaccination. “A large percentage of the population will need to be immune against the disease (through infection or vaccination) before herd immunity will be achieved.