People with high needle fear need strategies to help when it comes time for the COVID-19 vaccine
C. Meghan McMurtry
Published February 8, 2021
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C. Meghan McMurtry is an associate professor of clinical child and adolescent psychology at the University of Guelph.
What do you do if you are terrified of needles and even seeing or hearing about needles on the news makes you break out in a cold sweat? Will you shut out all of the news? Or cross your fingers and hope that your fear will suddenly disappear when your turn comes to take the vaccine?
In order for vaccines to protect us against COVID-19, we need 70 to 80 per cent uptake to reach community immunity. There are many reasons why people may not get a vaccine, one being needle fear. Frequently ignored or dismissed, needle fear is incredibly common, occurring in approximately two in every three children and one in every three adults. Many of us fall in the lower end of the needle fear spectrum, considering needles as a nuisance or a short-term unpleasantness that can be easily endured for the long-term benefit. This represents the lower end of the needle fear spectrum. But at the other end of the spectrum are high and phobic levels of needle fear, which can be a big problem.