Date Range: October 12 – 26, 2021

Summary

Findings. Employees, employers, and consumers continue to struggle with the implementation and enforcement of President Biden’s vaccination requirements. Protests and legal challenges persist among those opposed to the requirements, including the use of religious exemptions for the express purpose of circumventing compliance with requirements. On October 7, 2021, Pfizer-BioNTech submitted initial data from their COVID-19 vaccine trial in children ages 5 to 11 years old to the FDA. The anticipation of the vaccine’s emergency use authorization has generated mixed feelings among social media users who question the safety and need to vaccinate this population, given the relatively lower rate of severe disease, compared to older age groups. Concern about potential vaccine side effects continues to fuel the spread of misinformation, from misconstruing medical journal reports, to the purported superiority of natural immunity. However, reports, news articles, and social media conversation indicate that, despite the opposition, there are still many people who are in favor of COVID-19 vaccination and vaccination requirements for both children and adults.

Ways to take action. Federal, state, and local partners should continue to work together to explain the rationale for updated guidance, respond to gaps in information, and confront misinformation with evidence-based messaging. The goal of these efforts is to increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and expand vaccine uptake more broadly. Employers should develop policies that allow for paid time off for vaccination and recovery from side effects. Pediatricians should discuss potential side effects of vaccination with parents, while explaining the relative risk of an adverse event compared to COVID-19 complications. Public health practitioners should develop and disseminate simple, plain language fact sheets to help consumers choose the COVID-19 vaccine best suited to their individual circumstances and demographic category. Resources should also be developed for healthcare providers, offering guidance for conversations with consumers about natural or infection-acquired immunity versus vaccine-derived protections. All of these policies and communications should be written and disseminated in formats and languages people understand.

CS000000-A | 10/26/21

SoVC-report17.pdf