Are your candidates hesitant to get vaccinated? – Tips to combat vaccine hesitancy

The need to maximise vaccination efforts

If only the battle against the COVID-19 virus was just about defeating it through medical science!

However, the fabric of human society is far too complex for that. Social media, conspiracy theories and naysayers; disaster capitalism, scaremongering, violent public protests and vaccine hesitancy, are just a handful of the factors that have conspired to make the pandemic one of the most challenging global crises of recent decades.

As the pandemic has progressed worldwide, the responses to the pandemic of certain countries have been heralded as models for how other nations might tackle the problem. Sweden, New Zealand and South Korea have all been cited as leaders from which others could take inspiration.

Australia’s somewhat isolationist approach has been observed across the world. For some, it has been seen as quite severe in its attitude to international travel, which stranded many thousands of its own citizens overseas for considerable periods of time.

With the virus seemingly in retreat in the UK as one of the leaders in the vaccination effort, it has become clear that countries lagging behind are disadvantaged in the speed of economic recovery from the pandemic.

Compare the fortunes of the UK and Australia. According to Our World In Data, the UK is ranked 8th, whereas Australia is ranked 35th out of 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and there is clearly a lot of work still to be done down under.

Strategy and tactics for combatting vaccine hesitancy

There is much inconsistency and confusion attached to the policy of ‘no-jab, no-job’. The UK government has made it mandatory for aged care staff to be vaccinated from September, and quarantine workers in some states are already required to be fully vaccinated.

However, individual companies that wish to implement such policies may find themselves in contravention of employment laws, something that is generally unhelpful to the general effort to beat the virus and to economic recovery.

The same is true for vaccine hesitancy. Social media, conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns are largely responsible for people refusing to be vaccinated. However, side effects of the vaccines do warrant genuine cause for concern, despite the every low incidence rate when averaged across the total number of shots given worldwide.

With a ‘no-jab, no-job’ policy likely to invite a legal bill and some reputational risk, few companies are likely to use it as a route to preventing infection among staff and customers. So how can recruiters and their clients overcome the atmosphere of mistrust that accompanies vaccine hesitancy?

A strategy of combatting vaccine hesitancy could include mix of tactics, such as:

• Making efforts to negate social media disinformation – Leverage peer networks within your employee or candidate bases to encourage a reasoned dialogue about the issues
• Promoting expert opinion and that of ordinary people – A mix of professional healthcare advice and the experiences of ordinary people whose eyes are open to the benefits of the jab
• Leading by example – There have been examples of politicians who set the rules not abiding by them, and actions such as having the jab, and practicing what you preach is very helpful

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