7 reasons why many people hate COVID-19 vaccines
Imagine the situation that the world is in a global pandemic with a deadly virus spreading rapidly around the globe. Every 50th person infected with the virus dies a tragic death. Given a world population of about 8 billion, this results in 160’000’000 casualties, twice the population of Germany. Those that survive an infection are likely to suffer from a range of short and long-term symptoms. These can result in hospitalizations and intensive care treatments for several weeks. The only protection against the virus is a pill. This pill tastes terrible, and for several days it gives you a multitude of inconveniences, including stomachache, headache, muscle pains, and fewer. Apart from that, the pill is safe and protects against the virus in almost all cases. Although this sounds like a week of torture, I bet hardly anyone would refuse to take it, and rightfully so. The likelihood of death is endlessly worse than suffering for a few days.
The situation regarding the COVID-19 virus and its vaccines is very similar to this scenario. Nonetheless, many people detest the idea of being vaccinated. For example, in the United States, every fourth person refuses to be vaccinated. [1]
While the hard facts are clear, there are many subconscious processes deeply rooted in human nature that lead to adverse and irrational thinking and opposition towards the only legitimate cure. These are fueled by mainstream media and public authorities that use these proverbial buttons to achieve their personal goals.
In the following, I will outline seven cognitive biases that impact humans daily and are particularly obvious in the given circumstances. Many biases have their roots in our primal origins when they were critical for survival. In many cases, these biases are closely linked and can enforce each other.
1. Omission bias
The omission bias describes a tendency of humans to favor inactivity over activity.
In the case of vaccination, this means that people are afraid of potential side effects. To avoid them, they just do not get vaccinated. Although the consequences of being infected are far worse than potential side effects, they favor this inactivity over taking action by being vaccinated.
2. Availability bias
The availability bias describes that people use examples as references that come to their mind immediately when thinking about something.
An example of the COVID-19 vaccine campaigns is heavy media coverage of people dying shortly after being vaccinated. While no direct link to the vaccine has been proven to this day, people still remember these particular headlines more easily. It doesn’t matter how many people have already been vaccinated successfully. [2]
3. False causality
Closely related to the availability bias is the occurrence of false causality.
It describes the assumption that an event is caused by another event when occurring at the same time, even if there is no actual relationship.
In the given case, it means falsely identifying a cause-and-effect relationship between being vaccinated and death.
4. Neglect of probability
Neglect of probability describes the tendency of humans to overlook probabilities of potential outcomes when making decisions.
There have been 15 deaths that occurred after 360 million COVID-19 vaccinations by March 2021. Even if the vaccination would have been the actual cause of death, the probability of dying from it would be about 0.0000042%, compared to more than 2% from a COVID-19 infection. In other words, even if vaccines are deadly in some cases, it is 500’000 times more likely to die from COVID-19 after infection than from being vaccinated. [3]
5. Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is probably one of the more commonly known biases. It describes the state of inconsistent believes of a person.
When such inconsistencies occur, individuals strive for conformity and try to overcome this dissonance. Individuals that hear about positive effects but also about potential side effects, feel such a dissonance. To overcome this, humans tend to adapt their thoughts or behavior. This adaptation can lead to the conclusion that vaccination is overall negative because a more differentiated view can make individuals feel uncomfortable.
6. Authority bias
The authority bias describes the fact that individuals trust in the judgment of authority and are influenced by it.
While almost all actual experts on the matter of COVID-19 are in strong favor of vaccination to achieve herd immunity, some politicians and self-proclaimed experts misuse the situation to promote their agenda. An extreme example is the former POTUS, Donald J. Trump, who promoted misinformation regarding to the Corona virus in several cases. His authority as the arguably most powerful person in the world, paired with the human aversion for cognitive dissonance, made a pro-vaccination standing among Trump fanatics hardly impossible. [4][5]
7. Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is one of the stronger biases in this context and one of the hardest to overcome. It is supported by social media feeds and personalized news consumption. Individuals aim to interpret and seek new information, so it is in line with existing beliefs. Individuals that are in favor of vaccination or against will mainly consider information that confirms their position. As a consequence, there are ever-increasing differences between opposing views.
Several other cognitive biases and heuristics are applicable in the context of COVID-19 vaccination discussions that haven’t been considered in this post. As biases can hinder rational thinking and negatively influence one’s behaviour, it is critical to identify and overcome them. At the same time, nobody can be free of biased thinking or behavior. Sometimes, such behavior can even be favorable to deal with the complexities of life. Nevertheless, awareness is crucial to avoid manipulation through others and becoming a puppet of one’s primal instincts.
Sources:
[2] https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-no-links-found-between-vaccination-and-deaths/a-56458746
[3] https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-no-links-found-between-vaccination-and-deaths/a-56458746
[4] https://www.anthem.com/coronavirus/blog/well-being-and-community/vaccine-what-experts-say/
[5] https://www.npr.org/2020/04/21/837348551/timeline-what-trump-has-said-and-done-about-the-coronavirus
