The findings may also have implications for encouraging people to get the new vaccine. In a recent survey, people who said social distancing and COVID-safety guidelines violated their personal freedoms responded more positively to these ideas when they felt a loved one might be at risk of severe illness for COVID-19. “Emphasizing the benefits of being a protector for others (instead of yourself) looks to be more effective in promoting greater adherence to recommended practices,” says author Lawrence An, associate professor of general medicine at Michigan Medicine and co-director of the University of Michigan’s Rogel Cancer Center’s Center for Health Communications Research.