Welcome to The Turnstone: talking about vaccines. This newsletter contains resources to help you have kind and non-judgemental conversations with people who are uncertain about, or opposed to, vaccination.
Before I get to today’s resources, here’s a reminder of Sunday afternoon’s workshop (at 2pm), where I will be talking with:
Elspeth Frascatore, about the initiative “NZ Doctors Stand Up For Vaccination”
David Hood, about what we can learn from the data about New Zealand’s vaccination progress
David Wansbrough, about risk communication, vaccination and trust in government
To RSVP for the workshop, click the button below to email me, and I’ll send you an invitation.
Today’s resources are a diverse collection covering a range of topics, including needle phobia, vaccinating people who don’t trust the health system and a talk on variants and vaccines from Siouxsie Wiles.
Overcoming a fear of needles (3 minute read)
This article gives some strategies for how to approach getting vaccinated if you are afraid of needles
Conquering Needle Phobia For The COVID-19 Vaccine
What not to do in vaccine communication (3 minute read)
A brief explanation of why the message "vaccines are safe and effective" isn't reassuring to people who are concerned about vaccines.
The Three Deadly Sins of Vaccine Communication | Facebook Bulletin
Summary on how to talk with friends and family about vaccination (4 minute read)
A perfect explanation of how to have a kind and non-judgemental conversation with someone who is uncertain or sharing disinformation.
How to talk to loved ones who are vaccine hesitant | The Spinoff
Article on vaccine hesitancy in prisons (4 minute read)
A doctor in the USA talks about her brother, who is trying to convince his fellow prison inmates to get vaccinated.
Interview with Dr Elspeth Frascatore (9 minute video)
Dr Frascatore is speaking at Sunday's workshop. Here, she is interviewed on TVNZ's Breakfast.
Dr Elspeth Frascatore interview on Breakfast
In depth
What's coming next in the Covid-19 pandemic (12 minute read)
Although this article is from the USA, it's highly relevant to New Zealand as well. In particular, it argues that it's not just the percentage who are vaccinated that matter, but who those people are. It also talks about why the USA is seeing so many vaccinated people in hospital with Covid-19.
Six Rules That Will Define Our Second Pandemic Winter - The Atlantic
Talk by Dr Siouxsie Wiles (45 minutes, with questions at the end)
This talk covers background to Covid-19, how variants develop and vaccination.
Dr Siouxsie Wiles – COVID-19 presentation
This brings us to the end of two weeks worth of resources to help you have kind and non-judgemental conversations with people who aren't yet vaccinated. I'm still finding more information, so I'll continue to send out useful links each Wednesday afternoon.
I hope to see you on Sunday afternoon.
