More sense about vaccines from Hank Green

Hank Green once again has one or two true and useful words to say to young people about COVID-19 vaccination.

Dude knows what he’s talking about

Last November, we featured a sensible word or two from Hank Green (notable web producer, author, and master of miscellany) in his weekly vlog to his brother. (Bizarrely, Google says that’s the most frequent search hit of all the pages on this blog. People are… a bit weird.)

Now vaccines are available fairly widely for free (at least in the US), and even to people as young as 12. So Green has a thing to two to say to young people specifically. And take it from a grumpy old scientist: he still knows what he’s talking about.

Summary of the high points

The graph of vaccinations vs time is flattening out, when it should go up to 100% as fast as possible. (Actually, it’s worse than that: declining. See the graph from the New York Times COVID tracking page.) This is a problem: a public health problem, i.e., for all of us, not just individual choices.

Some excuses for vaccine delay/denial he’s heard, and appropriate responses:

• Excuse: “It’s slightly unpleasant, and I’ll feel crappy.”
  • Response: COVID-19 is way crappier, especially if you give it to somebody else inadvertently, who may die from it. Vaccination lowers the risk of that by 95%. Get vaccinated.
• Excuse: “I’m young, it won’t be so bad.”
  • Response: Yes, it might be. Hospitalization is a terrible thing to experience, and raises your risk of “long COVID” side effects for years, or possibly the rest of your life. Get vaccinated.
• Excuse: “It’s just my decision for my own welfare.”
  • Response: No, everybody who got COVID-19 got it from somebody else. Sometimes they’re asymptomatic carriers who spread it. Also, don’t be a burden on the already-overburdened health care system. Don’t be that person. Get vaccinated.
• Excuse: “What about variants?”
  • Response: Every COVID-19 variant evolved in an infected person. Don’t be that person, either. Get vaccinated.
• Excuse: “Maybe I already had COVID-19.”
  • Response: ‘Natural’ immunity is inferior to the very high immunity from the vaccines. Get vaccinated.
• Excuse: “I feel like getting vaccinated is giving up control.”
  • Response: Getting vaccinated is you taking back control! Get vaccinated.

It’s a big deal, sure; but it’s an easy decision to make. So make it.

Green’s obviously heartfelt plea, in personal language:

“Hi, I’m Hank Green. I make science videos. I’ve been making educational videos for people for free on the internet for over 10 years, and maybe you want to do me a favor!

It’s super easy. There’s a link in the description. You can click on it, put in your zip code, and make your appointment for getting your COVID vaccine. Put it in your phone, then go do it.

And get a free donut.” ^[1]

Respect.

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Notes & References

1: Hey, where’s my free donut? I didn’t get a free donut, and I want one! I did, however, get high-quality immunity, so I’ll just have to live with the fact that the nearest Krispy Kreme is like 2 states away. ↩