Conversations on public health and prevention strategies came to the fore during the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. The pandemic was declared a public health emergency owing to the spread of disease across the globe. From a global perspective, the COVID 19 pandemic brought out the need for considering public health within a world that is continuously globalizing (Mello et al., 2020). Vaccination remains a pivotal prevention strategy against the pandemic as highlighted by various stakeholders within the global health sphere. Leading global health organizations such as the WHO and the CDC that are present within many nations continue to reiterate the importance of vaccination. However, resistance to vaccination continues to dictate the ‘health politics’ of many nations. The resistance to vaccination will be examined within the research presentation.
Problem Statement
The COVID 19 pandemic continues to ravage the globe as evidenced in the last two years. While individuals have used vaccinations to prevent debilitating diseases in the past, protests against mandatory COVID 19 vaccines have been called into question. According to Hotex, now the anti-science movement in America has begun to globalize, with new and unexpected associations with extremist groups and the potential for tragic consequences in terms of global public health (Hotez, 2020). Patient autonomy and liberties have been adopted as a framework for launching anti-vaccination campaigns across the globe. Within America, political rhetoric that continues to be channeled through social networks affects public trust in vaccination. A lot of people have mixed feelings concerning vaccinations and as a result, most of them do not want take preventative measures. Nevertheless, it is essential to get inoculated because it is helpful for everyone.
Vaccination: Disease Prevention and Management
Evaluation of previous research within the medical field has indicated the importance of adopting prevention strategies within the public health sphere. The evidence-based practice remains pivotal within the field of medical practice. From a neutral perspective, individuals need to question the importance of vaccination that was adopted in their childhood developmental stages. Abara et al. (2017) pinpointed the importance of looking back at previous preventable diseases in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. The burden that follows chronic hepatitis B Virus remains challenging for public health officials and all stakeholders involved. The research by Abara, et al also asserts the importance of screening and vaccination in reducing the burden faced by stakeholders. Evidence-based practice cannot be ignored within the current COVID 19 pandemic. For individuals or more specifically patients, statistics from accredited governmental sources across the globe indicate the linkages between screening and vaccination.
Vaccination is largely a prevention strategy that is cost-cutting and long-term. Public health sectors are faced with the challenge of diminishing budget cuts. Moreover, public policies necessitate the importance of providing care for patients across different demographics. As earlier highlighted, evidence-based practice is pivotal in the field of healthcare. While the conversation on vaccination may be farfetched within the current study evaluation, Patel et al. (2018) research analysis aptly put in their research that implementation of HPV vaccination implemented in Australia from 2007 contributed significantly to the reduction of infection of rates. HPV prevalence within the highlighted target region was pivotal in reducing the prevalence and disease burden.
Evaluating the importance of vaccination on COVID 19 disease prevention and management is pivotal to the research analysis. The question of protests against mandatory COVID 19 vaccination across various states touches on theoretical aspects that impact health-seeking behavior. With that in mind, highlighting the justifications presented by the protesters against mandatory vaccinations is important. Public health experts are driven by the objective to ensure patients outcome improvement. Furthermore, public health officials may fail to meet their targets when resistance is developed against mandatory vaccinations within various jurisdictions. Newhagen and Bucy (2020) opined that the timing of the World Health Organization’s declarations of COVID 19 as a global pandemic impacted the beliefs of individuals across the globe. More importantly, public health professionals continue to experience a challenge in developing a vaccine that is trusted by individuals.
Prevention Strategies: COVID-19 and Reactance
Previous diseases or pandemics took quite a while in terms of vaccine development. The rapid rollout of the various vaccines across the globe is still viewed as untrustworthy and a ‘cover up’ by the WHO. The mistrust by individuals across different nations continues to impact the process of fighting the pandemic. Newhaven and Bucy’s article further posited that resistance to the utilization of new vaccines that are hurriedly produced without critical research raises doubt on global public health organizations. Taylor and Asmundson (2021) observed that negative attitudes towards the adoption of facemasks as a prevention strategy continue to take place. Governmental constraints and regulations continue to necessitate the need to wear facemasks in public. The major challenge that continues to be witnessed is the reluctance of individuals to wear facemasks in public. Moreover, anti-mask protests continue to occur within public spaces across the globe.
Empirical studies have been brought to the question in terms of evaluating the importance of wearing face masks in the context of COVID 19 prevention. In most countries, the COVID 19 pandemic required many individuals to work from home (Mello et al., 2020). Working from home was a new challenge for many individuals. On one hand, individuals got accustomed to wearing masks to meet regulatory guidelines. On the other hand, individuals had limited information on the need to wear masks within different contexts. Individuals who wore masks according to Taylor and Asmundson’s study developed negative attitudes towards COVID 19 regulations put forward within the local jurisdictions.
Resistance Towards COVID-19 Vaccination
Numerous cases have been highlighted within the United States touching on protests surrounding the uptake of COVID 19 vaccines. For example, California has witnessed numerous cases entail attacks targeting public health officials at the first peek of the COVID 19 pandemic. Mello et al. (2020) referenced cases within California surrounding attacks on health officials. The main concern is the public misconception surrounding the pandemic that continues to evolve. Sadly, armed and angry protesters continue to target the personal residences of public health officials. Moreover, harassment focuses on intimidating health officials within communities that focus on adopting or developing interventions aimed at protecting individuals from COVID 19. The resistance is based on misunderstandings on COVID 19 and risk perceptions.
During the initial stages of the COVID 19 pandemic, public health professionals were being infected at an alarming rate. Furthermore, the issue of resistance towards childhood vaccination remains challenging within the United States. The 2015 recent measles outbreak poked holes in the vaccination policies previously adopted by regimes (Ball 2020). To add to that, legislative officials have experienced death threats within different settings. As earlier referenced, California legislators such as Richard Pan experienced both physical assault and intimidatory attacks through online platforms. An important question that needs to be addressed within American society is the constitutional framework that guides policymaking. Protests against mandatory COVID 19 vaccination requirements from a legal perspective can be viewed as contravening legislative requirements established by the founding fathers of the United States.
Resistance to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements touches on much deeper structural and systemic issues facing the interpretation of the American constitution. Moreover, elected officials have played an important role in precipitating attacks against public health officials. Hotel (2020) referenced the anti-science rhetoric that has dictated the political sphere within the U.S. within the last five years. Political rhetoric impacts the decision-making of individuals across any country. With that in mind, vaccine coverage continues to decline across many U.S. states as occasioned by significant measles outbreaks experienced in 2019. Anti-science sentiments and conversations within America have spiraled out of its territory transcending to a global scale. The political rhetoric that develops anti-vaccine sentiments has contributed significantly to protests against COVID 19 vaccinations.
Ball (2020) contended that opposition towards vaccinations continues to grow through social networks. Moreover, social networks provide a framework whereby users can access information easily. Increased use of social networks impacts the ability of individuals to verify factual information. Another important question that needs to be answered by public health officials within the United States is whether children should be mandated to acquire a COVID 19 vaccine (Ball 2020). The initial political sentiments from former President Donald Trump were that the COVID 19 disease was Chinese. These sentiments influenced the beliefs of supporters within America. In some states, reactions, and reluctance to get vaccinated continued to grow.
Various mandates such as having companies get their workers vaccinated are continued to be directed from federal officials. Companies with over 100 employees, contractors, healthcare workers, and federal workers that are accorded with federal funding have been directed to have mandatory vaccination (Vergara, Sarmiento, & Lagman, 2021). Throughout the history of the United States, mandates have been developed within legal frameworks. Constitutional opposition to the current mandatory COVID 19 vaccination has been led by Republican legislators citing them as unconstitutional. As earlier highlighted, trust in the effectiveness and safety of vaccines remains critical for governments. Governments across the globe face the daunting task of maintaining and instilling public confidence in vaccine efficacy, safety, and effectiveness.
The Anti-Vaccination Movement
The anti-vaccination movement continues to grow rapidly across online platforms. Anti-vaccination movements provide a vast range of COVID 19 discussions. Fast-tracking the development of COVID 19 vaccines remains pivotal within the global healthcare system. The anti-vaccination community within the online space continues to inspire protests against mandatory vaccinations across the globe and the United States. Public distrust has negatively contributed to the hesitancy against vaccinations. Limited attention is given to the importance of public awareness or education in the utilization of COVID 19 vaccinations. Public education offers a framework whereby public trust in vaccines can be increased (Vergara, Sarmiento, & Lagman, 2021). Public health officials fail to also give attention to the role of strategic communication in the pro-vaccination movement.
Patient Autonomy
Patient autonomy is pivotal in the ethical practices that are ingrained within healthcare delivery. Patients or caregivers are provided the right to have a say in the medical decision-making. California residents recently protested against the state’s requirement to have eligible school children get mandatory vaccination. The protesters opined that it was critical for long-term studies to be undertaken before vaccination rollout on children. While the CDC continues to assert that COVID-19 vaccines meet federal requirements on drug effectiveness and safety, the hastened approach to have vaccines available for the public remains worrying. Suryadevara and Domachowske (2019) opined that protection of public health in some instances locks horns with individual autonomy in patients’ medical-decision making. Medicine and ethics cannot be distilled in any public health. Furthermore, the principles of medical ethics reiterate the importance of considering the harm that may impact patients.
Religious objections towards vaccination have been recently documented during the global rollout of COVID 19 vaccines. Clemens (2020) opined that religious objections to vaccines raise question marks on aspects of patient autonomy. Religious beliefs cannot be ignored in the context of public health. With that in mind, clinical experts may fail to acknowledge how patients perceive their health. Vaccination coercion has been witnessed within different legislative jurisdictions. Mandatory vaccine requirements continue to be met with protests within the United States. As earlier stated, the significant threats posed by occurring pandemics such as measles within the U.S. prompts authorities to violate autonomy and liberties granted in the nation’s constitution. Statistics by the CDC show that preventable diseases continue to plague the public health system of the U.S. (Clemens, 2020). Public health policies contribute to vaccine hesitancy that is being witnessed today.
Health Belief Systems
Cultural factors significantly impact the health beliefs of individuals. In evaluating the protests against mandatory COVID 19 vaccination, the impact of health beliefs cannot be ignored. More importantly, individual belief health systems establish larger health belief systems within nations (Clemens, 2020). Having said that, health belief models are theoretical and are adopted in the disease prevention and health promotion of individuals. COVID 19 vaccine uptake or acceptance can be analyzed based on the principles of health belief models. Self-reported health outcomes and trust in vaccination platforms, healthcare systems, and vaccine manufacturers impact COVID 19 vaccine acceptance. In most states within the United States, many individuals assert that they contracted the virus but got completely healed without medication. Based on this purview, individuals’ belief in health systems contributed to a growing public narrative that COVID 19 pandemic recovery could be achieved without any treatment.
Knowledge and attitudes of individuals towards the COVID 19 virus impact on vaccination acceptance and hesitancy. Moreover, the lack of knowledge is extrapolated in the fact that side effects pose the largest obstacle towards vaccination. To add to that, individuals believe that vaccines are not important or urgent needs. The WHO and CDC remain critical in providing public health information by adopting data gained from evidence-based practice (Suryadevara & Domachowske, 2019). In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, the WHO failed to act immediately when the infection cases were rising. Distrust in the role and mandate of the WHO impacts on the public discourse surrounding COVID 19 vaccines. Protesters continue to question the rapid development of global COVID 19 vaccines which make vaccine uptake quite difficult.
Protests against mandatory COVID 19 vaccination by the federal government impact on public health disease management and prevention strategies. Patient autonomy cannot be ignored when public health concerns are prioritizing. Instituting mandatory vaccination has been met with criticism within the globe. American society is guided by strict adherence to constitutional dictates. While the amendments of the U.S constitution require federal agencies to ensure the rights of citizens are protected, conflict with public health policies is inevitable. Attitudes and knowledge of individuals are important in the understanding of health belief models. Religious objections towards COVID 19 vaccines remain prevalent across the globe. Distrust in the public health officials and governmental agencies within the U.S. continues to significantly impact vaccine uptake. With that in mind, public education, public awareness, and strategic communication need to be critically evaluated in the current COVID 19 pandemic. Developing effective approaches in creating public awareness on the benefits of vaccinations remains important.
References
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Ball, P. (2020). Anti-Vaccine Movement Could Undermine Efforts to End Coronavirus Pandemic,Researchers Warn. Nature 581, 251 – 252.
Clemens, J. (2020). Addressing Religious Objections to Vaccination. Journal of the American Academy, 42 – 45.
Hotez, P. J. (2020). Anti-Science Extremism in America: Escalating and Globalizing. Microbes and Infection.
Mello, M. M., Greene, J. A., & Sharfstein, J. M. (2020). Attacks on Public Health Officials During COVID-19. JAMA, 741 – 742.
Newhagen, J. E., & Bucy, E. P. (2020). Overcoming Resistance to COVID-19 Vaccine Adoption: How Affective Dispositions Shape Views of Science and Medicine. Havard Kennedy School Misinformation Review.
Patel, C., Brotherton, J. M., Pillsbury, A., Jayasinghe, S., Donovan, B., Macartney, K., et al. (2018). The Impact of 10 Years of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination in Australia: What Additional Disease Burden Will a Nonavalent Vaccine Prevent? Eurosurveillance.
Suryadevara, M., & Domachowske, J. B. (2019). I Don’t Want My Child to Get Vaccines. Bioethics, Public Health, and the Social Sciences for the Medical Professions, 165 – 184.
Taylor, S., & Asmundson, G. J. (2021). Negative Attitudes about Facemasks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Dual Importance of Perceived Ineffectiveness and Psychological Reactance. PLOS One, 246317.
Vergara, R. J., Sarmiento, P. J., & Lagman, J. D. (2021). Building Trust: A Response to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Predicament. Journal of Public Health, 291 – 292.