0:00:01.425,0:00:02.204
Welcome back.

0:00:02.300,0:00:06.960
Most Canadians won't need convincing that[br]a COVID vaccine will be worth taking,

0:00:06.960,0:00:07.948
once it arrives.

0:00:07.948,0:00:11.067
But, as you just heard, [br]many Canadians have questions.

0:00:11.067,0:00:12.759
So, to answer some of ours,

0:00:12.811,0:00:15.841
Dr. Cora Constantinescu, [br]an infectious disease specialist,

0:00:15.934,0:00:18.834
who works at the vaccine hesitancy clinic

0:00:18.980,0:00:21.460
at the Alberta Children’s Hospital[br]in Calgary.

0:00:21.641,0:00:25.301
And Dr., I didn’t even know [br]a place such as yours even existed.

0:00:25.541,0:00:27.954
Who gets referred to you, exactly?

0:00:28.065,0:00:31.299
We have made it into[br]more of a streamlined process

0:00:31.299,0:00:33.880
and have actually gone out [br]in the physician community

0:00:33.880,0:00:35.751
and told them that we are here to

0:00:35.751,0:00:39.277
support them as they[br]refer the patients in to us.

0:00:39.277,0:00:43.867
And do you see it as your job to sort of[br]convince people to get vaccinated?

0:00:46.471,0:00:49.133
I see it as my job to support people

0:00:49.133,0:00:51.963
as they’re making[br]the decision to vaccinate.

0:00:53.140,0:00:56.818
How does that conversation sound?[br]Where would you even begin?

0:00:59.809,0:01:02.552
I start every time reminding myself

0:01:02.552,0:01:05.952
that at the heart of each and every [br]vaccine hesitancy appointment,

0:01:05.952,0:01:08.262
there is a parent trying

0:01:08.452,0:01:11.842
to make the best decision they can[br]for themselves and their family.

0:01:11.842,0:01:14.462
And it actually takes [br]quite a lot of courage to come in

0:01:14.462,0:01:18.000
because they’re battling[br]a lot of fears and misinformation,

0:01:18.000,0:01:20.100
and overall, a lack of trust.

0:01:20.247,0:01:24.857
So we spend quite a lot of time building[br]rapport and trust with each family,

0:01:24.857,0:01:29.646
understanding more about them [br]so we can actually personalize and tailor

0:01:29.646,0:01:34.458
the communication and the message[br]that we give them about the vaccinations.

0:01:34.458,0:01:36.595
And then, we work closely[br]with public health

0:01:36.595,0:01:39.500
where they go ahead [br]and actually administer the vaccines.

0:01:39.500,0:01:44.440
And that’s striking that you would say [br]there is this lack of trust.

0:01:44.973,0:01:48.662
How would you even begin to advise

0:01:48.662,0:01:52.148
a provincial government, a local[br]government, or the federal government

0:01:52.148,0:01:54.846
to create that or to build that?

0:01:57.394,0:01:59.864
I really think that when [br]we think about trust,

0:01:59.864,0:02:03.900
we have to think at the personal level[br]and at the population level.

0:02:04.352,0:02:06.294
And at the personal level,

0:02:06.294,0:02:10.964
it goes back to this idea [br]of putting it into perspective

0:02:10.964,0:02:15.907
and understanding [br]what the benefit of the vaccine

0:02:15.907,0:02:19.432
and the danger of the disease [br]is to each of us.

0:02:19.502,0:02:21.852
So, when it comes to COVID, for example,

0:02:21.852,0:02:26.231
I would encourage every Canadian [br]to think of what this pandemic,

0:02:26.573,0:02:28.573
what they have done for this pandemic,

0:02:28.573,0:02:30.682
and what this virus[br]has taken away from them.

0:02:30.682,0:02:33.016
So, it might be that [br]some have lost loved ones,

0:02:33.016,0:02:37.644
others have lost their social interaction,[br]the ability of the kids to go to school.

0:02:37.748,0:02:40.668
There is a cost to each[br]and every one of us

0:02:40.761,0:02:44.191
and therefore, there is a benefit[br]to each and every one of us.

0:02:44.421,0:02:49.140
And then, we all have to go [br]and take this vaccine

0:02:49.140,0:02:52.250
so that we can show that[br]we’re indeed in this together.

0:02:52.250,0:02:54.919
And then, when we move[br]at the population level,

0:02:54.919,0:02:57.779
it’s really important [br]to start building this trust.

0:02:57.779,0:03:00.658
And it’s a hard task to take on,

0:03:00.788,0:03:04.330
because you have to consider[br]the complexity of human behavior,

0:03:04.330,0:03:06.716
especially about COVID-19.

0:03:06.716,0:03:09.746
And our health care institutions[br]can't do this alone.

0:03:09.746,0:03:13.194
I don’t want this to come across[br]as a callous question,

0:03:13.194,0:03:16.414
but, how do you know what you do works?

0:03:16.414,0:03:19.200
Because you are not the one [br]administering vaccines, right?

0:03:19.200,0:03:22.530
Do you track your success rate,[br]so to speak?

0:03:22.822,0:03:24.491
So, depending on how we look at it,

0:03:24.491,0:03:27.802
it’s anywhere between about 50 to 65 %

0:03:27.802,0:03:30.485
that patients will go ahead [br]and have a vaccine

0:03:30.485,0:03:32.218
after they’ve attended our clinic.

0:03:32.218,0:03:35.649
And in the vaccine hesitancy world [br]actually that’s quite successful.

0:03:35.649,0:03:37.849
This has been an interesting [br]conversation.

0:03:37.849,0:03:40.300
Dr Constantinescu,[br]thank you so much for your time.

0:03:40.410,0:03:43.361
It was a real pleasure to be here,[br]thank you for having me.