People Not Getting Vaccinated

 My wife and I took the Moderna vaccine for covid as soon as we could and were delighted to do so.  We saw and still see getting vaccinated as an obviously sensible and prudent thing to do. Since getting the shots in January I have encouraged others I know, particularly others over fifty,  to do the same. Some have, and some have decided they won’t. The ones deciding not to get vaccinated are not fools or paranoiacs. They are not against vaccines in general. They do not think the shots contain a secret microchip which will allow Bill Gates to track their movements. They just plan to pass on this one.    According to the news there are millions of Americans who have made the same decision. Rather than insulting them, it is worth thinking about what might have contributed to their decision.

The first thing that comes to mind is simple fear. These days people are easy to scare.  They have been indoctrinated to be so. Through about the first  two thirds of the 20^th Century there was a general impression among the public and in journalism that advances in science and technology were good things which made people’s lives better. Many people still think so, but in the last fifty or so years fear mongering politicians and people in media have created a counter trend of unreasonable fear of everything from being poisoned by eating apples to causing the end of the world by having a hamburger, and especially  of anything to do with “chemicals”. The vaccines are made of chemical compounds, and they were created by corporations. The same people who have spent decades portraying anything chemical as dangerous and pharmaceutical companies as evil now seem surprised that people are wary of new chemicals developed by pharmaceutical companies. The environment is right for claims that the vaccines alter people’s  DNA or give them cancer or corrupt the purity and essence of their precious bodily fluids to be taken seriously.

There is also mistrust of government. Lying, bumbling, and covering up are standard features and practices of the government, and people can see that irrespective of their political preferences. (I doubt if very many people would consider both Barack Obama and Donald Trump to be competent, effective, straight shooters who did their jobs well and honestly.) People do not trust the government and its public relations people in the media because they are not trustworthy.  They have earned their “credibility problem”.

What should people in government do to make more people willing to be vaccinated? What they are doing now is not working well, and I doubt if sending evangelists door to door will do much good either. I would suggest that they change their marketing approach and try something very unusual for them. They should treat skeptics as reasoning adults, admit that their statements, demands, and actions on the epidemic in the past have sometimes been wrong, heavy handed,  and unnecessary, agree that all vaccines carry risks and that these were developed very rapidly while offering evidence they have worked out well, concede that young adults have little to worry about from the virus, resist the temptation to bring up race, gender, or Trump in the pitch, and ask, not order, people to get vaccinated to make things safer for everyone and get this thing over with. They also might consider finding a better salesman than a shifty, pompous old man so arrogant that he equates questioning his opinions to an attack on science itself.