It’s no secret many kids (and adults) don’t like needles. But where needle phobia can be a barrier to vaccine acceptance, it’s important to set your children up not to fear injections. Here’s how.
Vaccine hesitancy is a growing public health problem.
Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Vaccine hesitancy has resulted in multiple vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. Research on vaccine hesitancy in South Africa is limited. But growing evidence suggests that it’s becoming a problem.
Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Ami Neuberger, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
As the eradication of polio and the successful rollout of AIDS treatments have shown in the past, global cooperation in the face of COVID-19 is possible.
Establishing public trust is now central to any decisions regarding the inoculation of our child population.
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Historically, we immunized children against diseases like polio that were a clear danger to them, but COVID-19 is usually mild in children. However, herd immunity is unlikely without vaccinating kids.
Canadian athlete Finn Wakeling of the whitewater slalom team member is among those training in anticipation of the Tokyo Olympics.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marissa Tiel
Massive vaccine distribution efforts take a lot of coordination. The rollout of the Salk polio vaccine in the US in 1955 holds lessons for those delivering COVID-19 shots today.
Bennett Doughty, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Pamela Stewart Fahs, Binghamton University, State University of New York
The vaccines’ cold storage requirements and shipment rules put small, rural communities at a disadvantage, but that’s only part of a long-running challenge.
Are immunity passports an idea that we should be seriously considering?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Even though the idea has been rejected earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to rethink immunity passports. Here’s why.
Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is given the COVID-19 vaccine – she is one of the first in the US to receive it.
EPA/Mark Lennihan
Here’s what we still need to find out before we can know when we’ll be able to return to our pre-coronavirus ways.
Francesca Passer, a registered pharmacist technician, carefully fills a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a vaccine clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Dec. 15, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Employers could require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 via both workplace policies and existing laws. Neither option, however, is simple or straightforward.
The Nigerian government struggles to contain COVID-19 while other diseases suffer some measure of neglect
Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images
Over nine months into COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, there are concerns about how well the country has managed the disease pandemic and how this might affect its handling of other diseases.
Residents line up in their cars in late November at a food distribution site in Clermont, Florida, where many are hungry because of the pandemic.
Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The absence of effective government policy doesn’t make citizens free. It takes away their power, leaving them less able to act to address their needs. That’s especially clear during the pandemic.
Although monetary incentives work, there are potential drawbacks.
Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images
Millions of Americans say they won’t get the vaccine. Will money change their minds? And is luring them with cash the right approach?
Juan Miranda receives a flu shot from Yadira Santiago Banuelos, family nurse practitioner, at the Family Health Clinic of Monon in Monon, Indiana.
Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe
Millions of Latinos may not get the influenza shot this year, which could be an indicator of whether they will get a COVID-19 shot. A rural clinic shows how building trust can help overcome reluctance.
Parents also want to know about safety, side effects and if they’ll still have to wear masks.
FatCamera via Getty Images
With a vaccine now approved in the UK, other countries won’t be far behind. But a vaccine won’t singlehandedly ensure the virus doesn’t cross international borders when travel picks up.
Unprecedented efforts are driving the global push for a safe and effective vaccine. If and when we have one (or more), here’s how it’s likely to be rolled out in Australia.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand