As more states open up COVID-19 vaccination to anyone age 16 and older, the federal government has pulled out all the stops. Unleashing a full-force media blitz that includes a multimillion dollar ad buy in both English and Spanish, it has enlisted groups including NASCAR and the NFL, the Catholic Health Association, American Farm Bureau, and American Medical Association to help deliver the message that vaccines are safe and effective. The goal is to combat hesitancy, which has dropped considerably but remains substantial among those most susceptible to contracting and possibly dying from the virus. This includes people who work in medical fields and long-term care facilities. As the Pew organization reported recently, only half of long-term caretakers are vaccinated against COVID-19. To find out why certain groups remain hesitant and what messages may work to overcome their reluctance, we talked to Stephen Thomas, PhD, a professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health in College Park and the director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity, and Sarah Berry, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston and a geriatrician at Hebrew SeniorLife. Listen and subscribe on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google so you don’t miss the next episode. And if you like what you hear, a five-star rating goes a long way in helping us Track the Vax! This is a topic that we’ve heard more and more about lately, especially as the administration has announced a huge ad buy to combat this very issue. Let me just start by asking you, is this a real issue right now, especially since everybody still doesn’t have access to the vaccine? How do we actually measure and know that there are still big pockets of hesitant Americans? Stephen Thomas: Well, listen, there are a lot of things that we don’t know. But here’s what I do know from what I’m hearing in the community, right down at the local barbershop. And it’s that being hesitant doesn’t mean never. And being hesitant is like protection from what has happened to my community, Black people, over the years. Serena Marshall: Hesitancy isn’t anti-vaccine, it’s just caution. Stephen Thomas: Thank you. So once we get that straight, now let’s deal with the broken system out there. Three weeks ago, we had people that said “Hell no, I’m not taking a vaccine.” Those folks are now saying “Maybe.” And the people who were saying maybe, they are now saying, “Where do I sign up?” Serena Marshall: That’s a big jump to make, though, in three weeks. Stephen Thomas: Those jumps happen because we’ve been doing Zoom town halls, having conversations with communities, giving them the information they need to make informed decisions, not shaming them, not blaming them. That’s what we need to do. Serena Marshall: Pew reported recently that just half of long-term caregivers are vaccinated against COVID, many reporting hesitancy in getting the shot. Studying this issue is Sarah Berry, MD, a geriatrician and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston. Dr. Berry, I’m glad you’re here to explore this issue with us, because one group in particular that’s been a bit surprising in their reluctance to get the vaccine is medical professionals. You’ve examined this area at length, based on your work in this sphere. Why is that? Sarah Berry: It’s complicated. I think it’s probably multifactorial. I’ve been doing most of my work in the nursing home. And in the nursing home, I think, given what all happened last spring with the severity of these COVID-19 outbreaks, staff did not feel like they had adequate PPE or testing fast enough. There is an element of distrust. Distrust of management. Serena Marshall: When you look at these medical professionals, I mean, most folks see them and think, if they’re distrustful of these vaccines, why should I get them? Sarah Berry: As healthcare professionals, people are looking to us to tell them that it’s okay. There’s a lot of bad information out there about these vaccines. Serena Marshall: Is vaccine hesitancy that we see in the nursing home facilities translatable to the general medical population? Sarah Berry: Absolutely. COVID-19 didn’t get into nursing homes because we’re some isolated population. We are an extension of communities. And these low-income healthcare workers on the front lines in nursing homes, they’re going back to the communities that were hardest hit by COVID-19. They have the opportunity to get the vaccine first and to model for the rest of the community. So I think it’s very important.
