Vaccine hesitancy is counterproductive to economic recovery. Nick Woodward of ETZ discusses the background and looks at some ways of overcoming the problem for employers and recruiters.
The need to maximise vaccination efforts
If only the battle against the COVID-19 virus was just about defeating it through medical science!
Unfortunately, the fabric of human society is far too complex for that. Social media, conspiracy theories and naysayers; disaster capitalism, scaremongering, violent public protests and vaccine hesitancy, are just a handful of the factors that have conspired to make the pandemic one of the most challenging global crises of recent decades.
As the pandemic has progressed worldwide, the responses to the pandemic of certain countries have been heralded as models for how other nations might tackle the problem. Sweden, New Zealand and South Korea have all at one time or another during the course of the pandemic been cited as leaders from which others could take inspiration.
Australia’s somewhat isolationist approach has been observed across the world. For some, it has been seen as quite severe in its attitude to international travel, which stranded many thousands of its own citizens overseas for considerable periods of time.
With the virus seemingly in retreat in the UK, as one of the leaders in the vaccination effort, it has become clear that countries lagging behind are disadvantaged in the speed of economic recovery from the pandemic.
Compare the fortunes of the UK and Australia. According to Our World In Data, the UK is ranked 8th, whereas Australia is ranked 35th out of 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and there is clearly a lot of work still to be done down under.
Strategy and tactics for combatting vaccine hesitancy
There is much inconsistency and confusion attached to the policy of ‘no-jab, no-job’. As in the UK, the Australian government has made it mandatory for aged social care staff to be vaccinated from September, and quarantine workers in some states are already required to be fully vaccinated.
However, individual companies that wish to implement such policies unilaterally may find themselves in contravention of employment laws, something that is generally unhelpful to the general effort to beat the virus and to economic recovery.
The same is true for vaccine hesitancy. The use of social media to promote conspiracy theories and spread disinformation campaigns is largely responsible for people refusing to be vaccinated. However, that said, the side effects of vaccines do warrant genuine cause for concern, despite the very low incidence rate when averaged across the total number of jabs given worldwide.
With a ‘no-jab, no-job’ policy likely to invite a legal bill and some reputational risk, few companies are likely to use it as a route to preventing infection among staff and customers. So, how can recruiters and their clients overcome the atmosphere of mistrust that accompanies vaccine hesitancy?
A strategy for combatting vaccine hesitancy could include mix of tactics, such as:
- Negating social media disinformation – Leverage peer networks within your employee or candidate bases to encourage a reasoned dialogue about the issues and the real facts, such as the low proportion of those experiencing serious side-effects
- Promoting expert opinion and the views of ordinary people – Use a mix of professional healthcare advice and the experiences of ordinary people whose eyes are open to the benefits of the jab to tackle hesitancy through discussion
- Leading by example – There have been examples of politicians who set the rules not abiding by them, and actions such as having the jab, and generally practicing what you preach is very helpful
Help for recruiters to rebuild balance sheets faster
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