Religion, Misinformation Fueling Vaccination-Hesitancy Locally – Red Cross Director

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(PLTM) - Director of the BVI Red Cross Stacy Lloyd, said religion and misinformation is fueling vaccination-hesitancy in the British Virgin Islands.

She said in a recent interview with BVI Platinum News that the organization has seen a lot of the roadblocks as they attempt to play their part in providing credible information on the vaccine and aiding persons to get their jabs.

“For some, they want to do it when they are ready, and you have to respect that. Some vulnerable people say, “I see this on WhatsApp, somebody send me this,” and so this is what they believe, and this is what they know, and it is up to us now to show them, “no, this is not correct,” she said.

She adeed, “How you could tell someone who is 65, 75, they are already stubborn, they are already stuck in their ways, and then they have their families and their friends telling them that this vaccine is going to do this to them and do that to them? So what we try to do is provide information in regards to statistics but break it down in a more layman’s terms way and explain to them the pros and cons."

Lloyd also pointed out that religious persons are also a challenge.

“I find too the religious ones or persons who are more, I don’t want to say spiritual, but they much harder to break through than persons who are not so much in church, it is very, very difficult to have that conversation with them. But, I find that you are getting some turning around; at least some are willing to have the conversation, some people don’t even want to,” Lloyd stated.

Another group of persons hesitating to take their COVID-19 jabs are those who have a phobia for needles, she informed.

For some, “It’s isn’t about the vaccine, it’s just something about a needle, and they just can’t deal with that.”

She said in these cases, they have to provide psychosocial counselling and coach them through that process, “just holding their hand and going with them to the vaccination centre and talking to them and keeping them calm until they get that first shot and telling them what to expect after like you might get fever, you might get chills, you may not. But, for everybody, it’s different, and it’s not been easy.”

“With some, you get a breakthrough; with most you don’t, but we are not giving up. We continue to try to provide the information. I would say two in every 10 are willing to take the vaccine, it is a very low number, and that’s just the elderly. You have regular people my age or your age, and you cannot even have a conversation with them about the vaccine; they already shut down! So imagine older people who are already set in their ways, and they are the most vulnerable when it comes to COVID-19,” she added.

The BVI Red Cross Director also commended the government for their latest initiative to provide critical information on the vaccines, which she said is helping the cause.

Despite the vaccination-hesitancy, over 10,000 persons have received their first COVID-19 jabs.

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