Vaccine Messaging That Resonates With Hesitant Pharmacy Patients

"Vaccine Messaging That Resonates With Hesitant Pharmacy Patients" takes up the practical language pharmacists can use to move a hesitant patient toward vaccination.

The conversation shifts to the messages pharmacists can use with hesitant patients, following Dr. Jeff Goad's observation that translating vaccine science into language patients understand is often harder than explaining it to clinicians. Dr. Marcel Curlin agrees that the pharmacy counter is an important setting for this conversation, since patients frequently view pharmacists as trusted sources of health information.

Curlin recommends personalizing the discussion around individual risk. A patient may have a personal health vulnerability, he says, or a family member at home, such as a grandmother, who could be harmed if COVID-19 were brought into the household. He suggests pharmacists use that personal connection to reinforce why vaccination matters. Curlin then encourages emphasizing the vaccines' long track record. These platforms have been used safely in millions of people over many years, he notes, so they are not experimental or unknown.

For patients specifically wary of the mRNA platform or concerned about systemic side effects, Curlin recommends offering the protein-based alternative. Patients who dislike the idea of newer mRNA technology, or who fear feeling unwell afterward, can choose the protein-based vaccine instead, he explains, since it typically produces milder systemic symptoms. Curlin frames these symptoms as expected, self-limited signals that the immune system is responding appropriately, not signs of danger.

Curlin also suggests a practical timing strategy. Patients worried about missing work can schedule vaccination for a Thursday or Friday, he says, giving themselves the weekend to recover from any short-term symptoms before returning to their routine. Goad summarizes the core message succinctly: whether a patient chooses an mRNA or protein-based vaccine, the important outcome is that they get vaccinated. Curlin agrees, adding that most patients will experience either typical, mild side effects or none at all, while still gaining meaningful protection against the disease.

The next episode in this series, "Explaining COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects to Anxious Patients," digs deeper into the specific reactions patients can expect and why they happen.