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Rejection due to pre-existing conditions (e.g., allergies, pregnancy and young age)
There are usually two types of vaccination fears, which tend to be much greater than the actual risks involved. Both types of fear have been shown to influence vaccine hesitancy.
1) Fears related to suffering side effects (whether plausible or not). For example:
These fears can stem from or be magnified if individuals perceive vaccines to have toxic ingredients. Some commonly mentioned ones are:
2) Fear of the vaccination procedure itself, such as fear of needles.
This theme encompasses fears that one has a specific condition that would be exacerbated by having a vaccine. Arguments about contraindications are often raised in cases where they do not actually exist. For example, people may perceive that vaccination is generally inadvisable in these cases:
Contraindications to vaccination exist and medical professionals must treat them seriously. It is therefore advisable that people ask questions if they have existing conditions that they worry about. It is normal to have doubts about how any medical treatment might interact with the conditions one has, and seek reassurance about it.
Dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals is most productive if it is guided by empathy, and an opportunity for the patient to affirm the reasons underlying their attitudes and to express understanding for that. That’s why it is important to understand the attitude roots behind people’s overt opinions. To affirm a person’s underlying attitude root does not mean we need to agree with the specifics of their argument. For example, we can acknowledge that:
Contraindications to vaccination exist and medical professionals must treat them seriously. It is therefore advisable that people ask questions if they have existing conditions that they worry about. It is normal to have doubts about how any medical treatment might interact with the conditions one has, and seek reassurance about it.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) only approve vaccines that have gone through rigorous safety testing measures over large samples. Increasingly, tests will include specific populations to make sure vaccines are safe for them too (e.g., pregnant women, children, and people with allergies).
There are some instances where vaccines may be contraindicated for an individual, but healthcare professionals should always check if this is the case before they recommend vaccines. This is in line with the guidelines for safe vaccine administration.
Having a medical condition does not necessary mean one cannot get a vaccine. We should always check, because not getting vaccinated means facing the risks of an infection with the disease.
Additional information:
Academic references:
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