Annotated bibliography
Lawes-Wickwar et al. “A Rapid Systematic Review of Public Responses to Health Messages Encouraging Vaccination against Infectious Diseases in a Pandemic or Epidemic.” Vaccines, vol. 9, no. 72, 2021, pp. 1-28. ProQuest. Web.
The question as to whether one should take the covid-19 vaccine or not is shown to be influenced by various internal factors, as indicated in this article. The article is imperative in contributing to this debatable question because it discusses the reasons for vaccine use by highlighting the associated advantages. There are segments of the world population who are hesitant about taking the covid-19 vaccine due to psychological factors, which include not being educated, beliefs, and a reduction in risk perception of the pandemic. The reference is a publication of a systematic review study that aimed at presenting the results regarding effective messaging in addressing the hesitancy to the covid-19 vaccine.
Lawes-Wickwar et al. (18-24) have discussed the strategies that can be considered when promoting the acceptance of a covid-19 vaccine, which is safe and approved by the relevant bodies. It is important for healthcare providers to understand the barriers to taking the covid vaccine with the aim of developing clear and factual messages that can help to counter false perceptions about the vaccine. The article upholds the importance of understanding the needs of the targeted population to develop messages that are relevant in personal and social contexts to increase intentions and willingness for the covid-19 vaccine uptake. Lawes-Wickwar et al.’s article presents information that could be used in handling resistance by the public to taking the covid-19 vaccine.
Fitzgerald, Daniel S. “Prescriber Hesitancy on Covid Vaccines: Data Suggests Physicians Just as Hesitant as Patients, but Recent Successes Could Turn the Tide.” Pharmaceutical Executive, vol. 41, no. 1, p. 39. EBSCOhost. n.d. Web.
Fitzgerald (39) also indicates the hesitancy in taking the covid-19 vaccine, but unlike in Lawes-Wickwar et al. ‘s who focused on patients as discussed above, his attention is on physicians. Fitzgerald asserts the essence of having a well-orchestrated public program through which the public gains access to accurate and relevant information on the safety and efficacy of the covid vaccine. The prescriber is an important ambassador for health; hence, if they are not convinced of the benefits of the covid vaccines, it becomes difficult for them to convince the public. The authors advocate for the provision of data to show the efficacy and safety of the covid vaccine. Moreover, they assert the importance of addressing the psychological factors resulting in hesitancy; thereby, taking the covid vaccine becomes important to validate the extant positive phase III data on the effects of the covid vaccine.
The article presents the position of health specialists in the United States regarding the covid vaccine as influenced by the lack of convincing data. However, preliminary vaccine trials have been positive and are the main plausible interventions considering the lack of a curative guideline to treat the covid disease. The article, too, advocates for the development of health promotion messages to motivate physicians in prescribing its use.
Mallapaty, S. Are COVID Vaccination Programmes Working? Scientists Seek First Clues.”Nature, 2021. Web.
Mallapaty has prepared an evidence–based article that seeks to show the ongoing successes in covid vaccine development. The article shows that taking the covid-19 vaccine yields positive results because individuals injected with the COVID vaccine were less likely to test positive for the disease. Nonetheless, uncertainties linked to mutation and the vaccine’s effects at a population level are yet to be explored and validated. The article hypothesis that factors such as coverage of vaccine, viral transmission rate, and prevention of the disease should be weighed before concluding the efficacy of the covid vaccine. Therefore, taking the covid vaccine compared o not taking it is answered while focusing on the advantages of the vaccine. As opposed to not taking the covid vaccine, taking the covid vaccine has not been shown to be harmful and has the potential to work on the coronavirus mutations.
The article, therefore, asserts the importance of providing factual content to educate the public and healthcare workers on the essence of taking the covid vaccine despite challenges imposed by both internal and external factors. Mallapaty presents an issue of interest in that taking the covid vaccine versus not taking the covid vaccine is bound to be affected by the efficacy of the vaccine. Even though there are no clear studies on this, the article indicates that there are ineffective covid vaccines whose efficacy in controlling infection is not guaranteed. Thereby, in such circumstances, whether one should take or not take the covid vaccine becomes a debatable topic influenced by psychological factors.
Prüß, Birgit M. “Current State of the First COVID-19 Vaccines.” Vaccines, vol. 9, no. 30, 2021. EBSCOhost. Web.
The article provides a detailed account of the effects of the different covid vaccines that have been produced in different parts of the world including, Australia, the U.S., the EU, China, and Russia. The vaccines are given in two doses, and they all show improved immunogenicity. As a result, it becomes essential to address the barriers that interfere with uptake and coverage of the vaccine. The positive outcomes of the covid vaccines escalate the importance of developing persuasive messages. Whereas the vaccines are considered safe and have passed through various trials successfully, long term and large scale vaccination will help understand the vaccine better and make improvements where necessary.
The nine vaccines, all at phase III, show a 90% efficacy in preventing covid-19. The safety and efficacy of these vaccines are guaranteed by the approval provided by the various drug regulatory bodies, such as FDA. In the same way that there are regenerated drugs, there is a probability of regenerating the covid vaccine; hence, issues of ineffectiveness, as highlighted by Mallapaty (2021) above, might result. The parting shot of this article is that while vaccines are useful in suppressing the covid disease, it is paramount to increase the population’s willingness to take the covid vaccine. Collating the concerns of the public and using factual information to address their concerns is imperative as vaccine development is presumed to continue with large scale administration at the population level.
Kashmala, Khan, et al. “COVID-19: A Review of Emerging Preventative Vaccines and Treatment Strategies.” Cureus, vol. 12, no. 5, 2020. ProQuest. Web.
Kashmala et al. highlight the essence of the covid vaccine as a strategy to help curb the coronavirus and achieve herd immunity. Despite the fact that managing the virus being adopted over time, and individuals appreciate the behavioral preventive strategies, the use of a vaccine is deemed to increase management of covid disease because there is no cure for this condition yet. The article presents reasons why the public might be hesitant due to virus mutation. Nonetheless, the authors explain the ongoing activities in vaccine development in relation to two categories of viruses to help address the mutation issue. The article is clear about the stages of developing the vaccine. The authors further justify taking the vaccine because the phases of concern have already been done given current vaccines, as indicated by Prüß (1-12), are in the third phase of clinical trials.
The authors place emphasis on their views for supporting the uptake of the covid vaccine by using previous developmental efforts of other viruses to indicate that investigators are borrowing lessons from these past experiences. Moreover, the current therapies are not as effective because they do not accommodate the mutation characteristic but instead target particular viral components or phases of the infective process. The article is clear about prevailing uncertainties but still proposes the use of the covid vaccine as opposed to not taking it.