Not enough Americans want a COVID-19 vaccine. We must step up misinformation fight | Opinion

• Barbara C. Reynolds, MPH, PhD is retired dean of  the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing at Tennessee Tech University.

There is excitement now that COVID-19 vaccines are available.  Many people will stand in line or wait in cars for hours to get the vaccine. Some who feel entitled are getting to the front of the line.  

Director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  Anthony Fauci has made clear that herd immunity will be achieved once up to 85% of the population is vaccinated.

When so many are excited about getting the vaccine, why are some refusing to be vaccinated. Thousands of health-care workers have refused the vaccine. A recent Gallop poll said only 65% of Americans would want the vaccination. 

What are the reasons for refusal? 

Public health workers, health providers and the media are the ones who need to know the facts and be able to translate them for those reluctant to be vaccinated. 

Two issues amplify each other. One is biological and one is social. They are working together to undermine our capacity to contain the virus.

Those who are against taking the vaccine for biological reasons believe that it has been produced too quickly. They need to know that there is a major difference in the mechanism of developing this vaccine. 

The older vaccines depended on using the virus itself, by safely weakening it. The weak virus then set up an immune system in the body that warded off the disease. The polio, measles and chickenpox vaccines were developed this way.  

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The vaccines used by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are developed through a much different process.  Scientists and BioNTech founders Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci learned of the new virus spreading in China. They knew the process they had developed over more than a decade for cancer might be the answer to a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus.

Through a partnership with Pfizer, with whom they had shared other research, and together they introduced the first ever vaccine for widespread use that utilizes messenger RNA. The spike protein of the coronavirus was similar to others in their research, and using the genetic code of the virus, researchers were able to use the mRNA to infiltrate the cell that would cut off the virus. For those who question the science, this information should be reassuring. 

Influencers must push back against misinformation

The social implications are also a major consideration. Some are saying that the vaccine isn’t necessary. It is a hoax, or the virus isn’t serious. 

Q-Anon and a host of other anti-vaccination accounts on social media spread conspiracy theories such as a chip being injected that will let the government spy on our every move, or women will become infertile, or we will acquire Bell’s palsy.  Individuals who are uncertain about getting the vaccine are very vulnerable to theories that give them a rationale, however irrational or wrong. 

Those in positions of influence need to disseminate accurate information related to the biology and the validity of the mRNA approach to producing a vaccine. 

Those who believe in conspiracy theories and those listening to misinformation may be helped by educational approaches in small  communities.

Good information is essential in changing attitudes so that we can have a country where the risk of contracting COVID-19 is minimal.  The sooner we are all vaccinated, the sooner we can open society to business and social events.

Barbara C. Reynolds, MPH, PhD is retired dean of  the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing at Tennessee Tech University.