Dear Barb:
Hi, I have a dilemma. I chose not to get vaccinated from Covid. I must admit I bought into the conspiracy theories. I did not think the virus was anything serious and that it would eventually just disappear as Donald Trump said. However now we are into three years, and it is not going away and so many people have become sick and are dying.
From everything I read and hear it does seem that the unvaccinated are keeping this virus going for so long and allowing it to mutate. Over Christmas a lot of family and friends became ill, some just had colds, and some were quite sick, and my grandfather ended up in the hospital. I really do not know a lot about this virus, but I do not want to be responsible for perpetuating it. The problem is, after speaking out against the vaccine for all this time, I don’t know how to explain my change of heart to my family or friends.
Maybe no one knows how to stop this virus and it needs to run its course, but I’m feeling I should be listening to the Medical Health Officers now. They do not know everything, but I’m realizing I don’t either, and they’ve got more time and people to look into this stuff. Looking for some tips on how to explain my change of heart. Thanks, Scott.
Hi Scott:
You have the right to change your mind, however it may be difficult to explain your change of heart to family and friends. You can explain that since you made your initial decision, additional information and research has become available. People often change their opinions as they gain knowledge. A simple example are people who were staunch meat eaters and then become vegetarians; it happens, people change their minds.
At this point you can make a more informed decision. Also, you have witnessed millions of people being vaccinated with limited negative effects. It is a normal part of human nature to be skeptical and ask questions. However, at some point we have to trust that the experts who have spent years and years in medical schools, hospitals, and doing research, have more knowledge than we have through surfing the internet or watching biased tv shows. Often people make decisions based on the group they are a part of. They go with the flow. Then when they do more research, they realize they did not make an informed decision.
It can be especially hard for someone to realize they might not be making the right decision when they don’t have the knowledge to tell them that in the first place. This is called the Dunning-Kruger Effect, which Psychology Today describes as: “The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area. This tends to occur because a lack of self-awareness prevents them from accurately assessing their own skills.”
Good for you Scott for being insightful enough to change your mind when presented with additional information. I hope this information is helpful.
