A public health expert says the true rate of vaccine hesitancy may be higher than the government expects.
As the vaccine rollout begins, some public health experts are concerned the true rate of vaccine hesitancy may be higher than the government expects it to be.
Associate Professor Hassan Vally, an epidemiologist and senior lecturer at La Trobe University, spoke to the TMR’s The Tea Room podcast about the challenge of reaching the government target of having most Australians vaccinated by October.
TMR: Do you see any danger in relaxing some of the social distancing restrictions before we have the chance to get widespread vaccination coverage?
HV: We’ve got to be conscious that we need a certain critical mass of people vaccinated before the risk of COVID comes down. So we’ve got to be patient in in how we go back to the way things were. The big challenge is that the risk is never going to come back down to zero, or at least not in a long time.
TMR: Do you think that most Australians will volunteer to be vaccinated in time to reach the government’s target of having a majority of vaccines administered by October this year?
HV: I think it’s a huge logistical challenge to deliver the vaccine to as many people as we want to deliver it in such a short period of time, and we shouldn’t underestimate that. And while most people will be happy to be vaccinated, there are certainly going to be people who are vaccine hesitant, and we’re going to have to work really hard to reassure those people that the vaccine is safe and effective.
TMR: Are you worried that vaccine hesitancy could be higher than people think?
HV: Yes, personally I do. I think that there’s a big difference between people answering surveys and saying “Yes, I’d be prepared to have the vaccine”, and then actually going out and doing it. When I overhear conversations there’s certainly a lot of people that have concerns about how we got a vaccine so quickly, and they are sort of suspicious of how that has happened. And of course, there are people that are spreading misinformation about vaccines. So I think there’s a lot of work to be done and we’re going to have to put in the hard yards to make sure people feel comfortable in getting this vaccine.
TMR: Do you think if the public is unable to be vaccinated by their usual trusted GP that it could contribute to hesitancy?
HV: GPs will play an important role throughout the delivery of the vaccines, so I don’t feel like that is one of the going to be one of the big issues in terms of dealing with vaccine hesitancy. I think it’s going to be a broader issue of misinformation that gets circulated. And in period of such great change, people are cautious and they worry about things. That’s going to be our biggest challenge.
