I helped develop COVID-19 vaccine, let's reach unvaccinated by listening not shaming

The highly transmissible omicron variant is ripping around the globe, and only 61.2% of the population in the U.S. is fully vaccinated.

As we enter the second straight holiday season of an all-hands-on-deck response against SARS-CoV-2, our health care providers, our public health workers, our scientists and all who support them are exhausted – exhausted by the constant pressure to get data out feverishly, exhausted by the 3 a.m. emails and, for many, exhausted by seemingly plateaued vaccine uptake. But we can’t give up on reaching the vaccine inquisitive.

The numbers are depressing. Despite the incredible safety and efficacy of the vaccines, 1 in 7 adults in the U.S. still say they will “definitely not” get vaccinated, according to recent research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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Nearly 30% of vaccinated Republicans over 50 say they definitely won't or probably won't get a booster.

Their resolve may only be hardened by emerging data showing that full vaccination, even with a booster, doesn’t necessarily protect against infection with omicron – though, critically, the vaccines still protect extremely well against severe disease, especially after a booster.

'Not at all helpful'

In this atmosphere, it can feel hopeless to keep pressing the case with the unvaccinated.

I previously took to social media constantly to reach those who might be inquisitive about the vaccines; I answered DMs for an hour each day while I drank my coffee. These days, I can barely muster the energy to open my apps, let alone reply to the hundreds of messages that sit in my DMs unattended.

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Even the White House seems to have all but given up. In a press briefing earlier this month, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients starkly divided Americans into two groups: Those who have “done the right thing” and those who have not. “For the unvaccinated,” he said, “you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm.”

This caustic and dismissive tone is not at all helpful. Neither is dividing the country into “good” and “bad” actors based on vaccine status.

Don't give up

I remember that young children are still not eligible for vaccines and that access and time off work remain a challenge for some, especially low-income and rural families.

Most of all, it’s important to remember that many of the vaccine hesitant can – and must – still be reached. Quite literally, our collective lives and livelihoods depend on reaching them.

I can understand the temptation to give up. You might think those who have not yet been vaccinated have already heard, and rejected, every argument in the book. But, I am convinced that many can still be persuaded. I have seen time and again that many people who seem implacably opposed are just anxious.

They have questions that have not been answered. They have concerns that have not been addressed. And if you sit down with them one-on-one – if you treat them with respect, meet them where they are and take the time to listen and explain – you can reach them.

Sometimes their questions are around a supposed risk of infertility from the vaccines. I explain that not only are there no data to even hint at any such risk, but there is no plausible scientific mechanism by which these vaccines could affect fertility. When I take the time (and it can take some time) to help them understand the science, this concern often melts away.

I also hear a lot of people saying they’re young and healthy and thus not vulnerable to COVID. I explain that they make themselves vulnerable by leaving themselves unprotected, especially with a super-transmissible strain like omicron on the loose. The virus will find them. The virus will find everyone. And when it does, no matter what their age or fitness level, they are much, much better off having been vaccinated – even in the wake of variants – to give their immune system a guidebook for fighting back.

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I talk through concerns about side effects. I help people weigh risk versus benefit based on their own individual circumstances. Quite often, I also find myself explaining how many years we have been studying mRNA and how much rigor went into the scientific, clinical and regulatory processes that brought us these vaccines.

That last point is what moved my hair braider recently to get the shot. She and her entire family had been wary from the start. They didn’t trust vaccines that, to them, appeared to have been developed at a reckless speed. I tried to talk her through the science earlier in the pandemic as she spent six hours braiding my hair. Yet not even six hours with one of the people who developed a vaccine could persuade her. After one of her aunts recently died from COVID, however, she messaged me to ask a few additional questions about the vaccine development timeline and today I am delighted to report that she and her entire family are now vaccinated.

Listening to concerns

Admittedly, there was a part of me that felt I’d failed her aunt. When your message doesn’t resonate the first time, you feel like a failure. But we can’t write off those who don’t feel our information is enough for them to make an informed decision. The anecdote of my braider underscores an important point: You never know when someone who has planted themselves firmly in the “definitely not” category might have an experience that suddenly opens the door, just a crack.

I don’t go around aggressively proselytizing for vaccines; that would just alienate people. If I did, even some people in my family would have been alienated by now. I do, however, listen carefully for openings, for signs that an individual staunchly opposed to the vaccine may, just may, be open to reconsidering. If I hear such an opening, I seize it. My opening line: Do you have questions I could answer?

I lead by listening.

Time and again, I have seen this approach make a difference. I’ve come to understand that no amount of self-directed research on the Internet will move people to consider the vaccine. A respectful conversation can.

So, despite our immense weariness, despite our deep frustration, we must persist. To scientists, doctors, public health practitioners, community organizers, and activists: Keep listening. Keep answering questions.

Keep up the fight, one person at a time.

Kizzmekia S. Corbett is an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and led the team at the National Institutes of Health that designed and developed an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Moderna.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Omicron makes COVID vaccination more important than ever