Health Concern
The purpose of this paper is to create a health promotion plan for combating the spread of possible future variants of COVID-19. Given the tendency of the coronavirus to mutate into new iterations, it is reasonable to suggest that Omicron is not the last expression of this infection. Although the coronavirus problem is relatively new, the medical record of dealing with other diseases suggests that “nonspecific effects of non–COVID-19 vaccines may help bolster population immunological resilience to new pathogens” (Hupert et al., 2022, p. 1). Therefore, promoting COVID immunizations may help people resist new variants, which might appear.
Heterologous immunization is presented as the best practice for health improvement. In this context, heterologous means “the impact that vaccines can have on unrelated infections and diseases” (Hupert et al., 2022, p. 2). There is evidence suggesting that heterologous immunization is effective for such vaccines, as CoronaVac and Convidecia (Li et al., 2021), as well as Covishield and Phizer (Ostadgavahi et al., 2021). As such, this paper will encourage people to supplement current vaccines with heterologous vaccine intervention (HIV). In practice, it means that an additional shot containing a different vaccine should be injected into the body.
Demographic Data and Target Population
The target population is every person regardless of lifestyle, age, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, income, education, and employment. The only exception is people who have medical reasons not to vaccinate. A multinational study suggests that heterologous immunization should also include children (Greter et al. 2021). However, the real target population of the promotion plan is middle-aged men and women. The reason for this sample lies in that these people form a bulk of decisions made in society. They are likely to have children as well as older relatives who depend on them and thus listen to their opinion. Finally, this category of the population is also vulnerable to COVID variants even if they have already been vaccinated.
Although there is no direct predisposition of the chosen population to COVID variants, it is still important to promote vaccination. If anything, COVID variants have shown that any person can contaminate it. Vaccination is the most effective way of developing herd immunity (WebMD, n.d.). A health plan promoting heterologous immunization will benefit them in two primary ways. First, it will raise the target population’s overall awareness of the medical urgency of vaccination. Second, the plan will ease some of their worries by offering a viable alternative to a one-time shot. Ultimately, the target population will influence other groups to follow their example and participate in heterologous immunization themselves.
Sociogram
At the center of the sociogram are people between the ages of 30 and 50. These people are influenced by a variety of factors, each of which is depicted in a separate circle. The first circle has a blue color and is called “Social pressure”. This circle connects to two smaller blue circles, labeled “Close ones” and “Outside influence”. These represent the sources of hesitancy for the target population. The central circle is connected by another large circle with red color which is called “Health Risks”. It is followed by two smaller red circles, one of which is “Experienced diseases”, while the other one is “Vaccine”.
These represent the medical influence on the people in the center. The third large circle connecting to the central is yellow, and it is called “economic dependency”. It also has two smaller yellow circles labeled “Primary work income” and “Other sources of income.” These represent the financial conditions of people, which also influence their decisions in healthcare. Overall, this sociogram presents the multitude of factors, which affect middle-aged people.
Learning Needs
First, the target population has to understand the importance of vaccines. Despite decades of medical practice, vaccination hesitance is on the rise. It is, therefore, imperative to dispel myths surrounding vaccination and attract attention to the fact that vaccines prevent diseases (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). It is reasonable to suggest that the target population will at first be hesitant. Yet, it can be resolved with persuasive evidence of the effectiveness of overall immunization. Once they understand it, they will be immune to social pressure, such as the hesitancy of family members or the toxic ideas originating, which are viral on the Internet.
Second, these people need to learn about the advantages of heterologous immunization. Many people feel disbelief about the ability of a series of shots to resolve the problem of COVID variants. The explanation should include evidence of this strategy working with other diseases (Hupert et al., 2022). Heterologous immunization offers a more complex solution because it mobilizes the organism to fight other diseases, thus increasing the chances of successfully resisting the coronavirus.
Health Promotion Goals
Altogether, this plan sets three goals intended to increase awareness of heterologous immunization. First, it is necessary to overcome vaccination hesitancy with the use of data suggesting the efficacy of vaccines in preventing illnesses in the past. Second, it is important to show heterologous immunization as a viable alternative to a simple vaccination, which is less effective. Finally, it is imperative to encourage these people to spread the idea of heterologous immunization to their close ones, which will propel many younger and elder people to vaccinate. Ultimately, the plan should increase vaccination rates and improve the resistance of society to future variants.
References
Greter, H., Ivol, S., Mathieu, V. O., Erismann, S., Prytherch, H., & Steinmann, P. (2021). Heterologous vaccine regimen: Stakeholder acceptance and implementation considerations. Vaccine, 39(3), 580-587. Web.
Li, J., Hou, L., Guo, X., Jin, P., Wu, S., Zhu, J., Pan, H., Wanf, X., Song, Z., Wan, J., Cui, L., Li, J., Wang, X., Jin, L., Liu, J., Shi, F., Xu, X., Chen, W., & Zhu, F. (2021). Heterologous prime-boost immunization with CoronaVac and Convidecia. MedRxiv. 1-37. Web.
Hupert, N., Marín-Hernández, D., Gao, B., Águas, R., & Nixon, D. F. (2022). Heterologous vaccination interventions to reduce pandemic morbidity and mortality: Modeling the US winter 2020 COVID-19 wave. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(3), 1-10. Web.
Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Vaccination. Web.
WebMD. (n.d.). What is herd immunity?. Web.
Ostadgavahi, A. T., Booth, R., Sisson, G., McMullen, N., Warhuus, M., Robertson, P., Richardson, C. D. (2021). Heterologous immunization with Covishield and Pfizer vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 elicits a robust humoral immune response. The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 15(05), 653-656. Web.