Section outline

    • People who are vaccine hesitant are uncertain about getting vaccinated, but remain open to it if they are convinced that vaccines are safe, effective, and necessary. 

      It's normal for people to hesitate when making important decisions. Having a new vaccine like the Covid vaccine is an important decision. Having the Covid vaccine is not mandatory. 

      It's important to distinguish between people who are "vaccine hesitant" and people who refuse all vaccines or are so-called "vaccine deniers" or "anti-vaxxers".   ["Anti-vaxxer" is a term in common use; but feedback from the local community suggests that it can come over as extremely judgemental, and it's best not to use it when talking with or about patients]

      Between those who are happy to accept all vaccines, and those who refuse all vaccines, there is a spectrum of different attitudes to having vaccines.  

      See the diagram below from The World Health Organisation: the "vaccine hesitancy continuum" outlines the range of attitudes among people who are vaccine hesitant. Note the tiny proportion of people who are "vaccine deniers" or "vaccine refusers".



    • WHERE ARE YOUR PATIENTS ON THE VACCINE HESITANCY SPECTRUM? Quiz
      Students must
      View

      An important step in talking to people about vaccine hesitancy is to establish where they are on the spectrum of attitudes towards having the Covid vaccine.

      In this exercise, you are asked to match the patients to the most appropriate descriptions of where they are on the vaccine hesitancy scale