Getting Vaccinated Isn’t A ‘Debate’ So Why Do We Pretend That It Is?

I’ve had four ‘vaccine hesitancy’ conversations in the past two weeks. That is four more than I imagined I would ever have.

I had assumed the concept of being ‘vaccine hesitant’ was simply an insidious ‘rebranding’ of the anti-vax movement. An opportunistic excuse for anti-vaxers to be more vocal about their ‘beliefs’.

You know, like how people are happy to talk about the ideals of ‘white pride’ during BLM protests but insist they aren’t racists.

To me, it seemed completely reasonable to assume that anyone currently vaccinated against every other disease we vaccinate against would jump at the chance to be vaccinated against Covid-19, especially in light of the recent lockdowns.

Vaccine hesitancy, however, is, unfortunately, very much a real thing and one that seems to afflict A LOT of otherwise very reasonable people.

Let’s be very clear, vaccine hesitancy is one of the most immediate risks to our population’s health right now. We need the entire population to be vaccinated to manage the Covid-19 virus. This is both a health and an economic imperative.

The longer we delay the immunization efforts of our population the longer and more severe the consequences of Covid-19 become.