Vaccine Hesitancy Could Keep COVID Around Longer Than Expected, Experts Say
By Robert Davis
Concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine range from physiological concerns of blood clots to more conspiratorial narratives about corporate profit mongers “testing” the vaccine on humans.
As Denver pushes to get its residents vaccinated, the hesitancy that some people exhibit because of these narratives are concerning to some medical professionals, who believe it may cause the virus to linger around longer than expected.
Chief Medical Officer at Denver Health Dr. Connie Price told Denver VOICE that the hesitancy’s first victim will be herd immunity.
“Either we’re all going to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or it’s going to keep circulating among those who aren’t vaccinated,” Price said.
Right now, the two highest-risk groups live at opposite ends of the age spectrum: the elderly and college-aged youths. Data from the Centers for Disease Control says that older adults are twice as likely as other adults to contract COVID-19 and are more than 40-times more likely to be hospitalized.
Similarly, Denver’s highest case incidence rate is among people aged 20-29 years, according to data from Denver Health. When COVID-19 first hit in 2020, people aged 60 years or more represented 14% of cases at the pandemic’s peak. As of May 2 this year, people aged 20-29 years comprise over 24% of cases while the 60-and-older crowd represents just 6%.
Price sympathizes with people’s risk tolerance for medicine but said “the consequences from contracting the virus are far greater than anything we’re seeing with the vaccine. We will reach immunity. We just need to decide whether it will be by contracting the virus or through the vaccine,” she added.
Concerns about the vaccine accelerated in Colorado after the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, which tests the safety of medications coming to market, recommended pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April. after reports of blood clotting surfaced.
During the pause, medical teams from both agencies reviewed the risks associated with thrombosis – the medical term for blood clot – in several parts of the body, including the brain, abdomen, and lower legs.
The team determined that there is a “very low” chance of a person developing thrombosis as a result of their inoculation. At the time, only six cases of blood clots had been reported out of 6.8 million doses administered. Data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System found this total has now grown to 305 reports of thrombosis out of over 261 million doses.
Meanwhile, scientists at Oxford University published a study in April that found a person is at 10-time greater risk of having a blood clot if they contracted COVID-19 than if they got the vaccine. However, these facts aren’t making a dent in the “infodemic” some communities are facing. There were reports of people in Aurora missing opportunities to get vaccinated because of misinformation posted on local NextDoor pages. Some professional athletes have also used their platforms to politicize the vaccine.
To combat the false narratives, COVIDCheck Colorado offers information on testing and vaccinations. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science also offers free resources on how to spot COVID-19 misinformation online.
“It is our job to provide the facts. People will make their own choices after that, but their choices must be founded in facts,” Price said.
Another aspect of the J&J vaccine pause that has been difficult for medical providers like Price to deal with is vaccinating hard-to-reach communities. The J&J vaccine offers a single-dose inoculation making it relatively easier for outreach teams to vaccinate rural and homeless communities.
Price said the pause was a double-edged sword for medical providers. On the one hand, it fueled false narratives about the vaccine, and on the other hand, it forced providers to focus more resources on outreach efforts. Ultimately, it won’t stop the community from reaching immunity, but it could delay the event by three to four weeks, she added.
Outreach isn’t the only cost that hospitals have been asked to incur either. Between additional quality monitors, staff time, materials, and diverting resources from other departments, many hospitals aren’t coming close to breaking even on administering the vaccine.
Additionally, many private health insurance providers are covering the cost of the vaccine for patients. Any costs that are not covered by private insurance policies can be covered under Medicaid and Medicare with no cost-sharing, under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
For Price, administering the vaccine is not about making a profit. She described it as “an investment for the greater good.”
“This vaccine is safe, effective, and it’s our way out of this pandemic,” Price added.