Omicron variant heightens importance of public trust over Covid vaccines – Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Dr Melissa Jogie, Senior Lecturer, School of Education, University of Roehampton.
A member of the public receives a Covid jab at a vaccination site  as the Government accelerates the Covid booster programme to help slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant.A member of the public receives a Covid jab at a vaccination site  as the Government accelerates the Covid booster programme to help slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant.
A member of the public receives a Covid jab at a vaccination site as the Government accelerates the Covid booster programme to help slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant.

PUBLIC trust in the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has grown throughout 2021, however, the emergence of the Omicron variant has cast a shadow on the fine line between sensible caution and overreaction when it comes to public health policies.

As the Government urges the population to receive booster jabs as soon as possible, it is crucial that it closely evaluates public sentiment to ensure trust in vaccines remains high and address potential exposure to misinformation and miscommunication.

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This is especially important for groups who have felt more marginalised during the pandemic, including ethnic minorities, the differently abled, vulnerable groups who depend on front-facing services and those who were hesitant or had delayed receiving their first vaccine.

A member of the public receives a Covid jab at a vaccination site  as the Government accelerates the Covid booster programme to help slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant.A member of the public receives a Covid jab at a vaccination site  as the Government accelerates the Covid booster programme to help slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant.
A member of the public receives a Covid jab at a vaccination site as the Government accelerates the Covid booster programme to help slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant.

It is amongst these groups where deterioration of vaccine confidence is more likely to occur, as they might be more prone to experience ‘vaccine fatigue’ and diminishing levels of trust in the underlying science. The risk is that existing health inequalities are compounded, and that these groups lose confidence in the wider healthcare systems.

The UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, justifiably expressed his concerns last week to ‘take people with us’, in respect of introducing new social restrictions and vaccination policies. The challenge is that, while vaccines may scientifically present the best line of defence against Covid-19, they are not foolproof, and this is where the risk of misinformation lies.

Public engagement with vaccines therefore has two distinct social components: the first is the way we regard the safety, efficacy, and importance of vaccines; and the second is how we react to policies which provide extra safeguards around the spread of Covid-19.

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To address this challenge, the Government must commit to further research that understands public response to vaccine engagement, interventions, and health education, while promoting a balanced delivery and security system that is centred on equity and compromise.

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