Can Ex-Vaccine Holdouts Persuade Current Ones? - Bloomberg

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Can ex-holdouts persuade current ones?

In this week's edition of the Covid Q&A, we look at how to persuade unvaccinated people to get the shot. In hopes of making this very confusing time just a little less so, each week Bloomberg Prognosis is picking one question sent in by readers and putting it to experts in the field. This week's question comes to us from Janice in Ottawa, Canada, who is wondering what impact the recent wave of Covid-19 cases has had on vaccine holdouts. She asks: 

I’ve read many testimonials of very ill or dying unvaccinated Covid-19 patients who are now encouraging others to get vaccinated. Is there any evidence these tragic stories persuade previously unvaccinated people to get the jab? 

Vaccine hesitancy is a huge problem in the U.S. and Canada. While in some parts of the world access to Covid vaccines is limited, in North America there are plenty of shots but not enough takers. In the U.S., about one-quarter of the eligible population still hasn’t received a first dose.

But after an aggressive wave of the delta variant swept through the U.S. in the summer, hard-hit Southern states saw many previous holdouts rushing to get vaccinated. Arkansas, for example, in one single four-week period reported a 300% uptick in vaccination as many people confronted friends and family members contract the virus. There are, of course, still a large number of holdouts in those states, as there are elsewhere in the U.S. The question is how to best reach them. 

Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against vaccine mandates in New York.

Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg

For some insight, we turned to  Matt Motta, a political scientist at Oklahoma State University who studies vaccines and public opinion. 

“It's quite likely that Covid vaccine skeptics may be effective at reaching those who share their distrust of vaccine safety and efficacy, when they encourage others to pursue vaccination in order to avoid bodily harm,” says Motta. “But this is still, to some degree, an open question.”

The key, says Motta, is source credibility.

“In general, people tend to trust most those who share our views on political, social, religious, and other matters of great personal importance to us,” he says. Former holdouts, then, could be a good way to reach current ones.

“Previous studies in the field of science communication find that when those with whom we have something in common — say, our political beliefs — change their minds about a particular issue — say, whether or not climate change is caused by human activities — we tend to be more likely to update our own views in response,” Motta says. 

In a paper by Motta and colleagues still undergoing peer review, preliminary evidence suggests that such “reversal narratives,” as Motta puts it, can increase other skeptics' confidence in both childhood and adult vaccines.

In general, showing empathy and building trust are known to be two of the best approaches to help motivate vaccine-hesitant people to get the shot. Focusing on those approaches, rather than simply the facts, could go a long way toward increasing confidence in vaccines — for Covid as well as other diseases. 

Thanks to all of you for writing in this week! Next Sunday, we'll be answering the best question we receive again. So if you have any, we want to hear from you. Write to us at CovidQs@bloomberg.net—Kristen V. Brown  

Track the virus

Elderly Road-Trippers Roil China

China’s latest coronavirus outbreak has been linked by authorities to a single rule-breaking elderly couple enjoying the nation’s tourist sites. Two retired university lecturers from Shanghai started an extended road trip through the nation’s scenic northwestern provinces in early October, with disastrous results, according to media reports.  Get the full story here.   

Xi’an, the Shaanxi capital that’s the home of China’s famous Terracotta Army, was one of the cities visited by the rogue couple. 

Photographer: Ludovic Marin/Getty Images

 

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