Everyone is wondering when this pandemic will finally be over.
Many believe it will only end once we vaccinate every individual.
Even though our province is seeing record numbers of cases, while having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, this argument still has merits. Vaccinated individuals are overwhelmingly represented in the recent case counts, however, unvaccinated individuals seem more likely to be hospitalized. With everyone adequately vaccinated we won’t have to worry about hospital capacity so theoretically, therein lies the solution.
On the other hand, many believe the pandemic will only end once we accept that we can’t stop the virus with government intervention.
This argument is supported by the fact that the spread of the virus has continually increased in each succeeding wave in the last two years, despite unprecedented government-imposed rules, mandates, and restrictions. Mutations have also continued to create variants despite these measures. Healthy habits and vaccination should be encouraged, but a more traditional laissez-faire approach similar to many jurisdictions in the United States is the solution (such as the popular Winter home state of many local residents, Florida).
With two vocal groups in this country advocating these two strategies, hatred and division grow and reinforce both beliefs. The first camp believes more restrictions toward the unvaccinated is the only solution to turn them to the light, and end our problems. The second wants politicians and authorities to admit that the rules and restrictions have not worked and proposed long-term solutions that don’t entail intervening in our, and especially our children’s daily lives.
Both solutions will not work by themselves. The remaining unvaccinated individuals likely won’t be convinced by the current strategies. Conversely, the other side won’t admit that restrictions and vaccine mandates have not and will not help. In doing so, they would have to accept some of the blame for the extensive collateral damage and needless division that their policies have caused.
When dealing with unvaccinated individuals, experts are faced with a massive distrust that is not difficult to understand.
Consider the fact that the local health unit believed keeping this region locked down for an extra month and closing low-risk outdoor activities were justified a year ago while reporting less than 30 cases per week. They are now quiet about the desire or effectiveness of additional restrictions while reporting over 300 cases in the last 7 days.
Or consider the fact that we were told that once we vaccinated the majority of people, the end of the pandemic would be in sight. The fact that the lockdowns or the vaccine mandates didn’t end the pandemic, isn’t the experts' fault. But if they are unwilling to admit that their policies didn’t accomplish what they attempted, then confidence in public health will further erode.
If we truly believe that the best solution to end the pandemic is to increase vaccine uptake then we are fighting an uphill battle until the experts win back some trust.
This will be felt even more strongly in 2022 when the children’s vaccine or booster shot uptake naturally lags behind the first shots, as many countries have experienced. Israel’s third shot uptake has been 10% lower than the original two-dose course, now six months into the rollout of the booster. Additionally, this early world leader in vaccinations has only been able to convince 10% of parents to vaccinate their children one month into their approval of the vaccine. The uptake will likely suffer further with that country’s 4th shot recommendations announced this week. Many blame the disconnect between the authorities and the general population for the drops in vaccine uptake. A problem we may soon experience in Ontario.
We are faced with a carrot and stick dilemma.
After trying to use the metaphorical stick for months now by withholding normalcy, employment, and social acceptance from the unvaccinated, we need to start using the carrot. Just like you won’t convince a smoker to quit by alienating, punishing them, and allowing them to only associate with other smokers, you won’t convince someone to vaccinate with the same tactics.
The vaccinated population similarly doesn't trust the unvaccinated population.
This distrust is rooted in the fact that they perceive them as not taking the pandemic seriously enough. Now that the prevailing benefit of vaccines has shifted from protecting others to reducing the severity of the disease, some still justify vaccine mandates as a way to protect the unvaccinated from their own decision-making. The vaccinated resent the unvaccinated because they are taking an unnecessary health risk by refusing this vaccine. These reasons for distrust have merits but the shift to the hatred that we have seen is unprecedented and likely unjustified. We have never resented segments of the population simply based on undesirable health choices. We have never been encouraged to disassociate or punish binge drinkers, high-risk sports athletes, or fast-food consumers, who all take on unnecessary health risks.
You have likely never thought of blaming a hockey player with an injured knee for your own one-year delay in getting treatment for your nagging problem.
Nevertheless, some think that the unvaccinated group has some trust to earn back by showing more concern for the pandemic plaguing our society.
The biggest barrier to gaining and earning trust for both sides is imposed by division and hatred.
The health authorities specifically recommend that these two groups not even associate with each other. Regardless of the fact that experts have admitted that two doses of a vaccine (the current definition of fully vaccinated) provide only negligible protection from the spread, we are told to refrain from inviting unvaccinated individuals into our own homes and in some provinces, this has become the law. (Source:
& https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/
Additionally, Our Prime Minister and Premier frequently label one group as extremists and anti-vaxxer simply by virtue of their choice on this specific vaccine. The current messaging by politicians and health authorities are dangerously advocating unnecessary hatred that will negatively affect trust among people on both sides of this debate.
We need to eliminate hatred and division and encourage trust. It’s the only way forward if either side of this argument truly believes in what they preach. If you think vaccine uptake is the paramount goal, trust and not further alienation is the only solution. Authorities must earn trust but also convey it. They must trust adults to make decisions for themselves. The unvaccinated must in turn trust that for many of them, the vaccine has enormous benefits.
Many unvaccinated individuals will be more likely to consider the benefits of a health intervention when it is recommended with a balanced perspective from an authority they trust. The vaccinated population who can convey these messages to the unvaccinated will never be able to reach them if they are encouraged to treat them as a different class of citizens.
The first step is accepting where each side went wrong.
We can start by presenting the benefits of vaccination while being realistic about their expectations. We can acknowledge the collateral damage of our actions so far and try to avoid similar mistakes. We can end divisive policies such as vaccine-based employment and vaccine certificates as they have not shown enough substantial benefits to counter their harms. The unvaccinated population can remind others that they do still believe in science and don’t deny the existence of the coronavirus just because they are hesitant about this particular health choice.
Both sides can express their views or hesitations on these vaccines with an open mind and willingness to listen to the other.
These conversations and solutions will only come about when we work on trust and send hatred and division back to the dark ages where it belongs.
Réjean Venne
West Nipissing
