- If you’ve been vocal about your hesitation to get the COVID-19 vaccines but now feel differently, it’s OK to change your mind.
- 依靠有关病毒和疫苗的新数据和信息是接种疫苗的有效理由。
- Changing your mind doesn’t make you a hypocrite, but rather a person willing to evolve.
Everyone changes their mind about things they once felt passionate about.
And shifts around health and wellness are no different — meat eaters become vegetarian, couch potatoes complete marathons, and yes, those who may have been hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in the past decide to get the shot.
But for some people who changed their minds about the vaccine, letting others know about their decision isn’t always easy.
So was the case for Emily Richards in Arkansas. She was initially hesitant to get the vaccine because she wanted to wait for more medical studies about the COVID-19 virus and the vaccines.
“I wanted more time and more information. I am not in a high-risk group, so I was not sure getting the vaccine would be in my best interest versus letting natural immunity handle the virus,” she told Healthline.
However, after witnessing several people she considers healthy contract the virus and experience lingering symptoms — such as loss of taste and smell, fatigue, and cough — she began to reevaluate.
这使得随着众多研究以及在数百万人已经得到了疫苗的情况下表现出疫苗有效和安全，改变了自己的想法。她在2021年5月得到了镜头。
“我是犹豫的声乐，但选择拥有最深入的谈话，并讨论我对包括我自己的医生在内的受过教育的医疗专业人员的担忧，”理查德说。
“I live in a state that feels very different about the vaccine and [leans toward relying on] personal responsibility [in] preventing the spread of COVID,” she added. “I did not post on social media or advertise that I received the vaccine.”
While changing your mind can make you feel uncomfortable with a decision that goes against your original worldview, doing so can also come with a feeling of making an evolved and informed decision, saysDeborah Serani, PsyD纽约花园城的阿德菲大学的心理学家和教授。
This is how Amy Koenig, 42, in Illinois feels about her change of mind.
以自己作为一个人在健康,肥肥的g healthily, and turning to natural remedies for minor illnesses, aches and pains, she didn’t believe her or her family was at risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
“As teachers, administrators, and nurses headed back to school, there was a lot of information coming my way from friends and family,” Koenig told Healthline. “A woman my age who I would consider very fit with no known medical conditions was hospitalized for a few days and was given oxygen.”
虽然这位女士恢复了，但Koenig对避免病毒安全的信心，尤其是Delta Variant，Waned。
“我有童年哮喘，而我现在没有患上它，我的肺部将永远拥有这种记忆，我被告知。所以如果我生病了，它确实去了我的肺部，我可以比没有这个'肺记忆'的人挣扎，我们说。““[如果]三角洲变种是如此具有传染性，更有可能影响我的孩子，我可以在我无法妥善照顾他们的情况下吗？”
Koenig got vaccinated in August 2021.
她说她不担心人们对她的决定的看法。她认为她的选择意味着她很好奇，怀疑，分析，病人，终身学习者，殷直，自信。
“我为此感到自豪，”她说。“I think it’s wonderful to change your mind and empowering to know that you had a choice to make, you used all of the information you had to make it, and as new information is gathered, you are able to reassess and make a change if necessary.”
威廉·斯卡芬博士纳什维尔Vanderbilt University Center的预防性医学和传染病教授表示，这是人性化的持怀疑态度，提出问题。
“If patients evoke any resistance or skepticism, the first thing I do is acknowledge the validity of their skepticism… so they feel like I heard them… Then I ask them to tell me what concerns they have about the vaccine… and I provide information and offer more information when they are ready,” Schaffner told Healthline.
Serani says that changing your mind because you’ve read additional data or heard advice from experts is a common experience and that people often believe they may initially know more about a subject than they do. However, upcon learning more, they realize they don’t have all the information they need to make an informed decision.
“这种心理经历是当你认为你有知识形成有关事物的主管决定，但你真的没有这种能力。基本上，人们谈论疫苗，传染，科维德 - 19背后的科学等，被误入歧视，以至于它们具有高于实际的竞争力的这些问题。当他们根本没有，“Serani说。
When people become aware of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, they might consider that experts are more knowledgeable than them and turn to science and research to help guide them in health decision making, she said.
“I’ve often said, ‘I’m going to trust that the infectious disease specialists know more than I do about vaccines.’ I can change my mind and feel comfortable saying, ‘Maybe the decades these experts have spent in medical schools, hospitals, laboratories, clinical fieldwork, and research facilities is more valuable in leading healthcare than my few hours of armchair internet surfing,’” Serani said.
Schaffner表示，虽然数据可以影响人们的选择来获得疫苗，但犹豫不决的人通常需要对他们的决定感到舒服。
“信息是关键。你需要它。它的基础，但[心理学家]还告诉我们信息往往不足以改变行为。谢拉夫纳说，你必须改变人们如何考虑东西，而是他们如何感受。“
他说，科学家，医生和研究人员已经出现了很多信息，证明了疫苗的疗效和安全性，但他认为他们需要改进允许人们对获得疫苗感觉更好的沟通。
“A lot of your attitude is influenced by your social group. If you’re a young person and the crowd you hang out with smokes, you may smoke even though you can go into school and answer a biology test with great assurance that smoking is bad for your body and can cause lung cancer. But socially, you want to be part of the group, so you smoke,” he said.
If you are thinking about getting the vaccine and this decision differs from that of your social group, Schaffner says a way to save face is to focus on new information.
“Delta changed everything. That gives people an intellectually coherent and an emotionally safe way to use an off-ramp,” he said.
He suggests saying something like: “I’m still a firm believer in individual decision making and personal liberty, but now things have changed, so I think I’ll change my mind, exercise my individual decision making, and get the vaccine.”
“You don’t have to change your basic philosophy or who you are. Now life has changed, and so you are going to change,” Schaffner said.
Serani agreed.
If pride and fear of what others might think of you getting vaccinated is keeping you from getting the vaccine, she says to keep in mind that it’s a positive character trait to be able to say, “I was wrong” or “Oh, I’ve changed my mind” or “You know, I think this might be better for me.”
“Some very smart and educated people can get stuck in their world beliefs and can’t integrate new information in their old ways of thinking. This rigid cognitive processing style can make them not want to align with what is being touted as a ‘best practice’ for health,” Serani said.
然而,她补充说,进化为一个人类requires you to check in with your biases and belief systems often.
“The key is to place your own beliefs on hold while inviting other ways of thinking in,” said Serani.
The name of Emily Richards has been changed to protect her identity。