Upcoming Event Focused on Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among Youth

(Photo: Side Show Stock / iStock)

A local group is trying to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among youth.

The WE-SPARK Health Institute is getting set to host a student-led event to talk about the issue which will feature will feature a panel including a science expert, frontline worker and college and university students focused an answering any unanswered questions.

University of Windsor professor Dora Cavallo-Medved will be taking part and says peer to peer advice can go a long way.

"Having our students really being at the leading edge of this to share their stories, their experiences really allows them to take this leadership role and really speak to their peers about what those hesitancies are, and more importantly, how we can build confidence in the vaccines that are out there," says Cavallo-Medved.

She says many students are on the fence about getting the shot.

"Students, like everyone else, definitely have a lot of questions," she says.  "They have hesitancies with everything related to their health including vaccinations. We're here to support those students and young adults within our community who have questions about the vaccine."

Cavallo-Medved says there's a mix of reasons why many students remain unvaccinated.

"We actually ran a survey at the beginning of semester around September and it really is wide ranging from people feeling that they don't need to be vaccinated, their own immune system is sufficient, also questions around side effects, how fast the vaccines were developed and then even to things like being afraid of needles," she says.

The virtual event goes December 2 from 6pm to 7pm and is open to anyone.

More information and a link to register can be found at wesparkhealth.com.

— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides

Courtesy: https://www.iheartradio.ca/am800/news/upcoming-event-focused-on-addressing-vaccine-hesitancy-among-youth-1.16495913