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Could Aggressive COVID-19 Vaccine Promotion Actually Strengthen Anti-Vaxxers' Beliefs? Research Offers Insights

by — Last updated: 2021-09-30 in Mental Health

Sometimes you wish you could yell some sense into people — get that COVID vaccine already! Research reveals that aggressive tactics do not work, and can even be counterproductive. So, what do you do instead?

After aggressively fighting the infamous "covidiots" since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I recently tried a different approach with a friend.

He's an empathetic, caring, kind, and decent human being — who also happens to have downed more than his fair share of the pseudoscience Kool-Aid, and tends toward the more paranoid. He definitely doesn't want to get vaccinated, but he also dislikes face masks, which are, as a certain subset of society tells us, a tool to "take our freedoms away". Or something.

"I like them," I said of face masks, "because they might just block that invasive facial recognition software that's becoming ubiquitous now from seeing who you are. I personally feel that those cameras tracking my every move is the worst invasion of privacy possible."

That was a valid point, he said, and just like that, I got someone who would otherwise never have donned a face mask to consider reasons for doing exactly that.

I share this because it was one of my finer moments. At my lowest lows, I've also screamed at fellow grocery shoppers that "just because you stand closer to me, the queue doesn't move faster", and even suggested that if they had a death wish, there were less painful ways to "go" than COVID-19. Every time I encounter an unvaccinated D-bag who still feels like it's his or her right to stand two centimeters away from me while I get my essential food supplies, after all, they are putting my vulnerable relatives at risk. Just who do they think they are to do that?

Just as individuals can aggressively promote the steps that keep our communities safer from COVID, government campaigns and national publications can do the same. Some worry that these forceful messages could be counterproductive — causing vaccine skeptics to become more solidified in their beliefs rather than changing their minds. 

What can we do to combat this effect?

Understanding Why People Are Vaccine Hesitant

An in-depth study of vaccine-hesitant people in the United Kingdom and Ireland found that their underlying thought processes are most likely to be deeply rooted in psychology, as opposed to facts. As part of the study, the researchers found out that the vaccine "holdouts" were more likely to:

  • Distrust traditional media outlets, government agencies, and their own healthcare providers. As a result, they were less likely to keep up to date on the latest news and data provided by these "mainstream" sources, meaning that they might not have heard relevant information that could have changed their mind. Some would purposely avoid it.
  • Be devoutly religious. This could mean that they did not want to interfere with God's will, for instance, or that they lack trust in modern science as a whole.
  • Have several conspiracy beliefs, which would have destroyed their trust in traditional authority figures and caused them to question the intentions behind forceful pro-vaccine messages.
  • Be highly individualistic, including politically (meaning libertarian beliefs). These people would ask themselves what is right for them and their families, before asking what might be right for society at large. It would seem logical that they may worry about the side effects a COVID vaccine may cause them.
  • Have chronic health conditions, which might lead them to worry about the side effects of a vaccine.
Another study, this time from the US, shed further insights on people's reasons for resisting strong pro-vaccine messages — vaccination marketing, the research found, can be perceived as telling people what to do. In some people, this sends their threat perception through the roof immediately, and causes them to question just why they are being persuaded in such strong terms. Those who already hold conspiracy beliefs are then likely to strengthen those, while people with above-average individualistic traits are going to be innately resistant to being "ordered around". 

Some people, yet another study reveals, will immediately return to their previous beliefs, rather than being open to changing them.

How Do We Change People's Minds (And Get Them Vaccinated), Then?

Government campaigns, research suggests, can be more effective if:

  • People continue to feel like they have a choice, and by choosing the desired action, they are privileged rather than losing freedom or agency.
  • The message is reinforced by peer pressure — specifically, in this case, a large number of social media likes.
  • Associated with values that were already important to the person, or activities close to their heart.
When it comes to persuading the people closest to us to get their COVID-19 shots, however, things can get a little trickier. Many of the same principles continue to hold true. People want to feel respected, know that you're not trying to force them into anything, and they want to feel safe.

If this is relevant in your personal life, reading How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide, by Peter Boghossian and James Linsday, can be of help. Among the very many practical persuasive tips this duo offer are:

  • Listen, and in doing so, try to understand how the person formed their belief, rather than just what it is.
  • If you notice anything at all that you can connect with, acknowledge that. Say, your anti-vax relative is concerned about their future health. You are, too. Now you have something in common.
  • Ask calibrated questions, those starting with words like "how", "what", and "who", to get further information.
  • Be kind. Don't yell, don't interrupt, and don't belittle.
  • Share how you changed your mind in the past.
None of these things offer an easy answer, or a fast route. That's likely precisely why pro-vaccine messages have been so forceful recently. We need solutions now. Just like we have had to be patient with this pandemic, however, it looks like we need to be patient with the vaccine hesitant in our lives, too. To the contrary, they are likely to simply double down on their beliefs.