Living in the COVID-19 World... and Beyond #10: COVID Vaccination?
Some of you maybe have already received a 1st dose of the COVID vaccination and maybe even the 2nd dose. I’m not yet eligible but it won’t be much longer until I can get vaccinated. So, I have been listening to people and reading quite a bit about the vaccines.
This posting will not be an attempt to explain the medicine behind the vaccines nor even the pro’s and con’s of vaccination (although I have heard quite a few). Rather, this post will attempt to explore some of the underlying emotional issues that might be interfering with people’s ability to think clearly about whether to get vaccinated. Even if you are already firm in your conviction as to what to do, it might be useful to probe a bit … if not for yourself than so you can be a more sympathetic and effective listener for friends and family members who still have not made up their minds about vaccination.
My premise is that I want people to do their own fresh best thinking on a topic and not to simply do what they are told (or conversely reactively resist against conventional thinking). To do one’s best thinking requires both acquiring accurate information and clearing out any internal baggage that might interfere with one’s ability to think.
As I have listened to people, I have heard examples of rigid non-thinking like: “I’m going to get vaccinated because I always do what the Dr. says” or “I’m not going to get vaccinated because I never have, I’m against all vaccinations and I always will be”.
I have tried to identify what the experiences or concerns might be that are underneath these kinds of positions, for example:
o What are your early memories of being vaccinated or of seeing people vaccinated?
o What are your early experiences with the medical profession?
o What has been the historical medical mistreatment of your people? There has been much written about the mistreatment of black people and native people by the medical establishment, and there might be other groups who also harbor concerns based on historical mistreatment.
o What are your concerns about how you might react to the vaccine?
o What are your concerns about the long-term consequences of the vaccine? Or of not knowing what the long-term consequences might be?
o What were times when you felt controlled and were not allowed to use your own mind to make decisions, whether medical-related or not?
Regardless of our choice or position, we also want to be a resource for friends and family members who are struggling to think and decide about vaccination. We don’t want to come across as the one who has figured it out, knows what is right, and tells people what to do as that type of self-righteousness seldom generates any change in other’s behavior.
Two more insights that I have had as I have considered vaccination:
· One thing I have recognized in myself is the desire to get vaccinated so that things can go back to “normal” or the way they were. But I don’t want things to go back to the way they were, the world was filled with oppression and mistreatment prior to COVID-19. I want a very different world in the future than there was in the past. Getting vaccinated will not create the world I want. A whole different set of actions are required for that.
· Finally, I think it is important to think not only about what might be good for each of us personally but also what would be good for the community in which we live. We are all part of something bigger than our individual selves. None of us lives in complete isolation from other humans.
In the end, I believe our planet and our species will most benefit when everyone is able to do their own fresh and independent thinking, especially on the most controversial items of the day, and then share that thinking for the benefit of all.