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Talking to Others About COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
Pediatricians discuss the COVID-19 vaccine, its benefits and the best ways to talk with people who are hesitant to get it. For information about the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit childrens.com/vaccine.
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Dr. Kelly
Dawn Johnson, MD is the Medical Director of Primary Care at Children’s Health.
Learn more about Dr. Johnson
Nancy Kelly, MD, MPH | Dawn Johnson, MD
Nancy Kelly, M.D., M.P.H., is a pediatrician at Children’s Health℠ and Professor of Pediatrics at UTSW Medical Center. Her clinical and research areas of interest include immunizations, advocacy, and education.Learn more about Dr. Kelly
Dawn Johnson, MD is the Medical Director of Primary Care at Children’s Health.
Learn more about Dr. Johnson
Transcription:
Maggie McKay (Host): This is Children's Health Checkup where we answer parents' most common questions about raising healthy and happy kids. I'm Maggie McKay. And our topic today is talking to others about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with our experts, Dr. Dawn Johnson, Medical Director of Primary Care at Children's Health and Dr. Nancy Kelly, pediatrician at Children's Health and Professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
In the fight against COVID-19, vaccines have proven a safe and effective tool to prevent serious illness. But many people remain hesitant to get vaccinated. And the vaccination rates for children are even lower. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 22% of children ages five to eleven in the US are fully vaccinated as of early February 2022, three months after the COVID-19 vaccine was approved for children in this age group. It's clear that many parents have questions or feel uncertain about making this choice for their child.
With us today are two pediatric experts who have spent much time talking about the COVID-19 vaccine with others, including those who are hesitant. They're going to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine, its benefits and address common concerns people may have. They'll also share tips for navigating conversations with those who are hesitant. So without further delay, please welcome Dr. Dawn Johnson and Dr. Nancy Kelly. Thank you for being here to discuss this important topic. Let's dive right in. Dr. Johnson, what are some of the most common misconceptions fueling vaccine hesitancy?
Dr Dawn Johnson: Thanks, Maggie. Thanks so much for having us. I would say there are a wide range of misconceptions and most of them based on misinformation that people are getting from online or from family members or in the community. Some of the more common ones are that kids are healthy, so they don't need the vaccine. Another one we often hear is that they've never had COVID-19, so they don't need the vaccine or they have had COVID-19 so they don't need the vaccine. We often also hear about fertility concerns, the vaccine is too new or people have read that the vaccine can cause severe illness and death. Those are the most common ones I think that I hear. Dr. Kelly, do you have any others?
Dr Nancy Kelly: Yeah, I would agree. Side effects are a concern I hear frequently from parents, in particular is concern about myocarditis. I think the fact that the vaccine came out very quickly, parents are worried that maybe it didn't go through the same rigorous approval process that previous vaccines have gone through. And I've even heard some very surprising concerns like, "Oh, I'm afraid that the vaccine is going to change my DNA" or "I had one family that was concerned that the vaccine was going to insert a chip into them that would then track movements." So we've heard lots and lots of concerns from parents who were just trying to do the right thing for their child.
Maggie McKay (Host): Wow. Dr. Johnson, have you heard any parents saying that they don't want to get their child vaccinated because it's too new and there are too many unknowns?
Dr Dawn Johnson: Absolutely. That's up there in the top. It's just too new and parents are afraid. And I think that Dr. Kelly touched on this a bit, but I think it's so important that we acknowledge that that parents want to do what's right for their child, and are really afraid.
Maggie McKay (Host): And what about certain populations? Do you find that certain groups of people are less trusting of the vaccine than say others?
Dr Nancy Kelly: So I think this is very understandable, because there were situations in our country's past where people were the victims of medical experimentation in certain populations. And thankfully now, we have very strict rules and very tight regulations that monitor medical research. And so this is not a concern anymore, but I do have parents that are still concerned about that. And when I hear that, what I usually do is really suggest to my families, that they go to the medical literature and they can look at the CDC website, they can look at the Children's Health website and get information about what is in the vaccine and how were the vaccines tested and really get good information about the safety of the vaccines. And then I also try to talk to them about how I give the vaccine to my family. I got it myself. I recommend it to everybody that I care about. So I think certainly having trust also in the pediatricians and in the physicians can really help alleviate some of parents' concerns.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Johnson, what would you tell a parent who is hesitant about vaccinating their child?
Dr Dawn Johnson: That is something that we deal with on a daily basis. I think there are several important things to do as a primary care physician. Number one is to listen to parents' concerns and to not deny them, belittle them or disregard their feelings that are based on them wanting to do what is best for their child, and then invite them to allow us to discuss their decision. Ask them to invite me into that conversation. And if they do, then provide them with validated information about the COVID-19 vaccine, answer their questions while listening carefully and trying not to offend. And then as Dr. Kelly said, encourage families to get information from reputable sources, the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and to be careful of unvalidated information. If we're successful, great. If we're not, just to keep that door open. So that may be at the next visit or the next visit, we'll continue to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, and eventually reach a place where the children are protected.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Kelly, based on your experience, what advice can you give our listeners about having conversations with others in their lives who do not want to get the vaccine? Because sometimes it's a touchy topic.
Dr Nancy Kelly: Yes, that can certainly be very challenging and I think has caused a lot of conflict within families when there are some members who are very much in opposition to getting vaccines and others who really want to get the vaccine. And I think it kind of goes back to what Dr. Johnson was saying as well, is having open conversations and not having antagonistic conversations, but really trying to find out what is it specifically that your family member or that your friend is concerned about. And if you can find out what their concern is, perhaps you can then get them information or direct them to a great website as Dr. Johnson said, like CDC or the NIH or Children's Health or the Vaccine Education Center, so that they can get accurate and factual information.
As Dr. Johnson said, I think one of our biggest problems right now is that we're dealing with so much scary misinformation that's out there on the internet that just really terrifies our families. if that information was true, I would never give a vaccine to my children either, but it's not true. And I don't know how these rumors and these terrible news get started, but they're terrifying. And so we've got to get families good information that they can trust. And so I think just again getting back to how do you deal with this within families trying to just have open conversations and getting folks good accurate information.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Johnson, is there anything else you'd like to share regarding vaccine hesitancy?
Dr Dawn Johnson: Yes, I guess that I would add that we have more data on the COVID-19 vaccine than probably any other rollout for a vaccine in the history of mankind and everything indicates that the vaccine is safe and very effective. In the world more than 11 billion COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. And in the US more than 560 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. And all the while the eye of the public, of the scientific community, of physicians and other healthcare workers have been focused on how the vaccine is working and on side effects. So with that in mind, I hope that families will consider that, at this point in time, we know a lot about the COVID-19 and we'll trust that the vaccine will help protect them and their family.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Kelly, do you have anything in closing to add?
Dr Nancy Kelly: I think just that anything that we do in life has risks and benefits. And what I always tell parents is that, in medicine, there is nothing that we do that's completely risk-free. We give a prescription for an antibiotic for an ear infection, there's a possibility the child might have an allergic reaction to that. And I think it's the same with vaccines. Kids are frequently going to have soreness at the injection site or maybe some fever or body aches for short term. But this is actually a good thing and this is showing us that the child is responding as they should. And that they're building immunity to fight off those diseases should they come in contact with them. So the risk of severe side effects is so, so rare. And yet we see the risk of terrible outcomes from COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases. And so we have to just look at what's the bigger risk. The bigger risk is always getting the disease. The safest option in all of these situations, COVID-19 vaccine and all of the childhood vaccines is to get the vaccine. And so I just, again, would reiterate what Dr. Johnson has also said, is that get good information. Knowledge is power. And if parents have good information, they can make that good decision to get vaccines for their children.
Maggie McKay (Host): Thank you so much for your time and sharing your knowledge. I hope this cleared up some of the misconceptions about getting the vaccine. If you or someone, you know, has more questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and its safety, you can visit children's dot com slash vaccine.
Thank you, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Kelly, so much.
Dr Dawn Johnson: Thank you, Maggie.
Dr Nancy Kelly: Thank you.
Maggie McKay (Host): Thank you for listening to Children's Health Checkup. If you found this podcast helpful, please rate and review or share the episode and please follow Children's Health on your social channels.
Maggie McKay (Host): This is Children's Health Checkup where we answer parents' most common questions about raising healthy and happy kids. I'm Maggie McKay. And our topic today is talking to others about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with our experts, Dr. Dawn Johnson, Medical Director of Primary Care at Children's Health and Dr. Nancy Kelly, pediatrician at Children's Health and Professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
In the fight against COVID-19, vaccines have proven a safe and effective tool to prevent serious illness. But many people remain hesitant to get vaccinated. And the vaccination rates for children are even lower. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 22% of children ages five to eleven in the US are fully vaccinated as of early February 2022, three months after the COVID-19 vaccine was approved for children in this age group. It's clear that many parents have questions or feel uncertain about making this choice for their child.
With us today are two pediatric experts who have spent much time talking about the COVID-19 vaccine with others, including those who are hesitant. They're going to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine, its benefits and address common concerns people may have. They'll also share tips for navigating conversations with those who are hesitant. So without further delay, please welcome Dr. Dawn Johnson and Dr. Nancy Kelly. Thank you for being here to discuss this important topic. Let's dive right in. Dr. Johnson, what are some of the most common misconceptions fueling vaccine hesitancy?
Dr Dawn Johnson: Thanks, Maggie. Thanks so much for having us. I would say there are a wide range of misconceptions and most of them based on misinformation that people are getting from online or from family members or in the community. Some of the more common ones are that kids are healthy, so they don't need the vaccine. Another one we often hear is that they've never had COVID-19, so they don't need the vaccine or they have had COVID-19 so they don't need the vaccine. We often also hear about fertility concerns, the vaccine is too new or people have read that the vaccine can cause severe illness and death. Those are the most common ones I think that I hear. Dr. Kelly, do you have any others?
Dr Nancy Kelly: Yeah, I would agree. Side effects are a concern I hear frequently from parents, in particular is concern about myocarditis. I think the fact that the vaccine came out very quickly, parents are worried that maybe it didn't go through the same rigorous approval process that previous vaccines have gone through. And I've even heard some very surprising concerns like, "Oh, I'm afraid that the vaccine is going to change my DNA" or "I had one family that was concerned that the vaccine was going to insert a chip into them that would then track movements." So we've heard lots and lots of concerns from parents who were just trying to do the right thing for their child.
Maggie McKay (Host): Wow. Dr. Johnson, have you heard any parents saying that they don't want to get their child vaccinated because it's too new and there are too many unknowns?
Dr Dawn Johnson: Absolutely. That's up there in the top. It's just too new and parents are afraid. And I think that Dr. Kelly touched on this a bit, but I think it's so important that we acknowledge that that parents want to do what's right for their child, and are really afraid.
Maggie McKay (Host): And what about certain populations? Do you find that certain groups of people are less trusting of the vaccine than say others?
Dr Nancy Kelly: So I think this is very understandable, because there were situations in our country's past where people were the victims of medical experimentation in certain populations. And thankfully now, we have very strict rules and very tight regulations that monitor medical research. And so this is not a concern anymore, but I do have parents that are still concerned about that. And when I hear that, what I usually do is really suggest to my families, that they go to the medical literature and they can look at the CDC website, they can look at the Children's Health website and get information about what is in the vaccine and how were the vaccines tested and really get good information about the safety of the vaccines. And then I also try to talk to them about how I give the vaccine to my family. I got it myself. I recommend it to everybody that I care about. So I think certainly having trust also in the pediatricians and in the physicians can really help alleviate some of parents' concerns.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Johnson, what would you tell a parent who is hesitant about vaccinating their child?
Dr Dawn Johnson: That is something that we deal with on a daily basis. I think there are several important things to do as a primary care physician. Number one is to listen to parents' concerns and to not deny them, belittle them or disregard their feelings that are based on them wanting to do what is best for their child, and then invite them to allow us to discuss their decision. Ask them to invite me into that conversation. And if they do, then provide them with validated information about the COVID-19 vaccine, answer their questions while listening carefully and trying not to offend. And then as Dr. Kelly said, encourage families to get information from reputable sources, the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and to be careful of unvalidated information. If we're successful, great. If we're not, just to keep that door open. So that may be at the next visit or the next visit, we'll continue to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, and eventually reach a place where the children are protected.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Kelly, based on your experience, what advice can you give our listeners about having conversations with others in their lives who do not want to get the vaccine? Because sometimes it's a touchy topic.
Dr Nancy Kelly: Yes, that can certainly be very challenging and I think has caused a lot of conflict within families when there are some members who are very much in opposition to getting vaccines and others who really want to get the vaccine. And I think it kind of goes back to what Dr. Johnson was saying as well, is having open conversations and not having antagonistic conversations, but really trying to find out what is it specifically that your family member or that your friend is concerned about. And if you can find out what their concern is, perhaps you can then get them information or direct them to a great website as Dr. Johnson said, like CDC or the NIH or Children's Health or the Vaccine Education Center, so that they can get accurate and factual information.
As Dr. Johnson said, I think one of our biggest problems right now is that we're dealing with so much scary misinformation that's out there on the internet that just really terrifies our families. if that information was true, I would never give a vaccine to my children either, but it's not true. And I don't know how these rumors and these terrible news get started, but they're terrifying. And so we've got to get families good information that they can trust. And so I think just again getting back to how do you deal with this within families trying to just have open conversations and getting folks good accurate information.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Johnson, is there anything else you'd like to share regarding vaccine hesitancy?
Dr Dawn Johnson: Yes, I guess that I would add that we have more data on the COVID-19 vaccine than probably any other rollout for a vaccine in the history of mankind and everything indicates that the vaccine is safe and very effective. In the world more than 11 billion COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. And in the US more than 560 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. And all the while the eye of the public, of the scientific community, of physicians and other healthcare workers have been focused on how the vaccine is working and on side effects. So with that in mind, I hope that families will consider that, at this point in time, we know a lot about the COVID-19 and we'll trust that the vaccine will help protect them and their family.
Maggie McKay (Host): Dr. Kelly, do you have anything in closing to add?
Dr Nancy Kelly: I think just that anything that we do in life has risks and benefits. And what I always tell parents is that, in medicine, there is nothing that we do that's completely risk-free. We give a prescription for an antibiotic for an ear infection, there's a possibility the child might have an allergic reaction to that. And I think it's the same with vaccines. Kids are frequently going to have soreness at the injection site or maybe some fever or body aches for short term. But this is actually a good thing and this is showing us that the child is responding as they should. And that they're building immunity to fight off those diseases should they come in contact with them. So the risk of severe side effects is so, so rare. And yet we see the risk of terrible outcomes from COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases. And so we have to just look at what's the bigger risk. The bigger risk is always getting the disease. The safest option in all of these situations, COVID-19 vaccine and all of the childhood vaccines is to get the vaccine. And so I just, again, would reiterate what Dr. Johnson has also said, is that get good information. Knowledge is power. And if parents have good information, they can make that good decision to get vaccines for their children.
Maggie McKay (Host): Thank you so much for your time and sharing your knowledge. I hope this cleared up some of the misconceptions about getting the vaccine. If you or someone, you know, has more questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and its safety, you can visit children's dot com slash vaccine.
Thank you, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Kelly, so much.
Dr Dawn Johnson: Thank you, Maggie.
Dr Nancy Kelly: Thank you.
Maggie McKay (Host): Thank you for listening to Children's Health Checkup. If you found this podcast helpful, please rate and review or share the episode and please follow Children's Health on your social channels.