On the subject of vaccinations… If you haven't noticed me saying this before, I'll say it again.
It's not vaccines that will stop the Covid-19 pandemic. It's vaccinations.
We've all noticed the shockingly widespread opinions that vaccines are to be avoided. They are usually written online, on venues such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. Just how many of these 'opinions' are fake or generated by robots is a big question. But public health data makes it clear that fewer children are receiving the standard vaccines, such as the vaccine directed against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, we've seen how many people refuse to wear face masks. Once effective vaccines are available, how many people will refuse to be vaccinated?
I'll bypass the 'Natural Selection' answers that say 'let those who refuse the vaccination suffer the natural consequences'. Similar thinking has been applied to those who refuse to wear seat belts while driving cars, or wear helmets while on motorcycles. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly contagious, unlike not using seat belts or helmets. This pandemic is too large and too widespread for this narrow minded thinking to work.
How can the refusers be persuaded to get vaccinated? In off-line discussions I've heard what might be a good idea –
Scare Tactics. Most of us remember the graphic TV ads showing people who suffered debilitating, disfiguring, and fatal consequences from smoking or chewing tobacco. I think they helped by being shocking. Some of us, including myself, remember being shocked and scared when learning to drive by movies that graphically showed horrific results of traffic accidents. I remember seeing a movie called "
Signal 30" as a junior in high school. There was enough blood & guts shown, that one or two kids barfed or passed out.
How about similar scare tactics aimed at those who refuse vaccines?