Tips for Speaking to People Hesitant About COVID-19 Vaccine

Speaking to folks who are hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine has gained a new sense of urgency as the Delta variant pushes cases up across the country.

Dr. Peter Barkett, an internal-medicine specialist at Kaiser Permanente in Silverdale, said people can think of the virus like a fire. The vaccine is starving it of the fuel it needs to keep raging. He said it’s important to keep having conversations with friends and family members about why it’s important to be vaccinated.

“Even if they had it three to six months ago, back when the vaccine was pretty new,” he said, “I think what they’ll find is that many more people have gone through the vaccination process and have had a good outcome, and they should reconsider it.”

Barkett said vaccine rates for Washingtonians ages 18 to 34 are lagging, in part because some in this age group don’t think they need it. But he added that it’s worth reminding people that even if COVID-19 doesn’t get them sick, they could pass it on to vulnerable family members or friends who could be severely affected by the virus.

Barkett said it’s important for people who are vaccine hesitant to hear from people they trust, which could be a family member, friend or religious figure. He noted that in one case, a patient wanted to speak to his rheumatologist before getting the shot because he had concerns about whether it would interact with his medication.

“I said, ‘That’s perfectly reasonable.’ And I called up their rheumatologist while we were in the office together, put them on speaker phone, and we had a conversation,” he said. “And the rheumatologist recommended that we go ahead and take the vaccine – and the patient did.”

There have been reports about people who’ve been vaccinated testing positive for COVID-19 as the Delta variant takes hold. but Barkett noted that the vaccine is like a seat belt: It might not prevent a crash, but it will most likely keep you safe.

“So while the seat belt might not be perfect protection in a motor vehicle accident,” he said, “we do know that it’s very good protection, and it’s far better than the alternative of not wearing a seat belt.”

Hablar con personas que dudan recibir la vacuna del COVID-19 ha ganado un nuevo sentido de urgencia a medida que la variante Delta aumenta los casos en todo el pais. El doctor Peter Barkett de Kaiser Permanente en Silverdale dice que la gente puede pensar en el virus como un incendio. La vacuna le esta privando del combustible que necesita para seguir creciendo. Dice que es importante seguir conversando con amigos y familiares sobre porque es importante vacunarse.

“Incluso si se enfermaron hace tres o seis meses, cuando la vacuna era bastante nueva, creo que lo que encontraran es que muchas mas personas han pasado por el proceso de vacunacion y han tenido un buen resultado, y deberian reconsiderarlo”, anadio tambien el doctor.

Segun Barkett las tasas de vacunacion para los habitantes de Washington de 18 a 34 anos estan rezagadas, en parte porque algunos en este grupo de edad no creen que necesiten la vacuna. Pero dice que vale la pena recordarle a la gente que incluso si el COVID-19 no los enferma, podrian transmitirlo a familiares o amigos vulnerables que podrian verse gravemente afectados por el virus.

El doctor tambien agrega que es importante para las personas que dudan de las vacunas escuchar a personas en las que confian, que podrian ser un miembro de la familia, un amigo o una figura religiosa. Senala que, en un caso, un paciente queria hablar con su reumatologo antes de recibir la inyeccion porque le preocupaba que reaccionara con su medicacion.

“Dije: ‘Eso es perfectamente razonable’. Y llame a su reumatologo mientras estabamos juntos en la oficina, los puse en el altavoz y tuvimos una conversacion. Y el reumatologo recomendo que siguieramos adelante y recibiera la vacuna, y el paciente lo hizo”, tambien comento el doctor.

Ha habido informes sobre personas que han sido vacunadas dando positivo al COVID-19 a medida que la variante Delta se afianza. Pero Barkett senala que la vacuna es como un cinturon de seguridad: puede que no evite un choque, pero lo mas probable es que lo mantenga a usted a salvo.

“Si bien el cinturon de seguridad puede no ser la proteccion perfecta en un accidente automovilistico, sabemos que es una muy buena proteccion y es mucho mejor que la alternativa de no usar el cinturon de seguridad”, apunto por ultimo el doctor Barkett.