← Quick Find
Menü
Fear to side effects that are known to be caused by vaccines (e.g., fever, sore arm and fatigue)
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 is about the fear of experiencing adverse side effects that vaccines can cause. People are warned about these side effects, and may be reluctant to experience them.
These types of side effects are typically minor, or they may be major but with low probability. Critically, these are side effects that have a basis in science. Examples are: fever, sore arm, convulsions, muscle aches, weakness, fatigue, arm swelling.
There is a small risk of side effect with vaccination, although the vast majority of these are minor. It is quite common to experiences mild side effects like fever and fatigue. It is understandable that people feel these are inconveniences that they would rather avoid.
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:
There is a small risk of side effect with vaccination, although the vast majority of these are minor. It is quite common to experiences mild side effects like fever and fatigue. It is understandable that people feel these are inconveniences that they would rather avoid.
Many of the side effects we experience following vaccination are normal signs that our bodies are building protection and that our immune systems are working. These side effects should go away in a few days.
However, not getting vaccinated means facing the risks of an infection with the disease. We need to compare those two risks to be able to make an optimal decision.
Mild side-effects such as a sore arm, fever and fatigue are a minor inconvenience compared to the severe consequences we could suffer from the disease.
Additional information:
Academic references:
English 
French 
Spanish 
German 
Romanian