Vaccinations have become a
trendy topic in today’s health age, whether practical, necessary, or
helpful. Much misinformation is spread due to the lack of fact-checking,
the growing lack of critical thinking, and the general public not
wanting to research or challenge their beliefs. I could not find many
cons to acquiring vaccinations because they do not exist, there is not
evidence that shows a healthy individual should shy away from
vaccinations, as they have been able to basically wipe certain viruses
from today, like polio. As far as cons go, a patient that has
immunological issues such as cancer, Guillan-Barre, or other
neurological issues can face major issues and lasting effects when they
take vaccinations ( Shen & Dubey, 2019). For this reason, they
should be cautious when taking vaccinations to reduce paralysis or
lasting health issues. There are many pros to vaccinations as we can
prevent issues and illnesses from occurring, such as TDAP, MMR,
Varicella, Polio, and other novel viral diseases that lead to massive
death and crippling rates (Shen & Dubrey, 2019). Recently, the COVID
vaccination has been under fire, and while testing is still being done,
we have seen that there was a severe decrease in those who received the
vaccine and acquired or have lasting health issues from COVID-19. On
the other hand, I have also had a lot of patients suffer from blood
clot-related injuries or attacks and other pulmonary issues as well
after receiving the vaccine as well. I have seen both sides and
understand how people can be skeptical when data is complied with and
studies are still being completed.
When approaching an individual or patient about their ill-informed
theory or beliefs about vaccinations, it is in our best interests as
providers to provide proper education and resources with evidence of
vaccination effectiveness. As APNs and providers, it is our job to
ensure our patient’s health is being properly managed; we need to be
able to show them their information and beliefs are from false
information and that the evidence backs that claim (Nuwarda et al.,
2022). But it sadly is not that easy as some people are very stuck in
their ways and have strong beliefs of not trusting vaccinations, we need
to be able to approach with an open mind as well in hopes they will be
able to open their mind to our point. When talking about vaccinations we
need to be able to adapt to the person and their beliefs, there is not
one message to send to everyone to get them all to agree. We are asking
people to change their beliefs and what they already knew as the truth,
hoping to keep an open mind and gentle, meaningful conversations so we
can open them up to the proper evidence to disprove their previous
methods.
References
Nuwarda, R. F., Ramzan, I., Weekes, L., & Kayser, V. (2022).
Vaccine Hesitancy: Contemporary Issues and Historical Background. Vaccines, 10(10), 1595. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10101595
Shen, S. C., & Dubey, V. (2019). Addressing vaccine hesitancy:
Clinical guidance for primary care physicians working with parents. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 65(3), 175–181.
