Sask. resident overcomes vaccine hesitancy, encourages others to do the same - Action News
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Saskatchewan

Sask. resident overcomes vaccine hesitancy, encourages others to do the same

"What it eventually ended up being for me was, this is a war. A war in which you get enlisted just by breathing. So, the least anyone could do is fight."

'In the interest of everyone around us, we have done our part': David Okoro

Okoro says he and his wife decided to get vaccinated for the good of his community. He says he trusts doctors, but has a hard time trusting pharmaceutical companies. (Osato David Okoro/Twitter)

David Okorowas on the fence about the COVID-19 vaccine. He and his wife were trying to stay safe by washing their hands and isolating. ButOkoroended up getting his shot in Regina this week and wants others to do the same.

Sowhat convinced him?

"I wouldn't feel comfortable looking at, especially health workers, and telling them, 'I have not been vaccinated,'" he said.

"For society, the country that we have migrated to, in the interest of everyone around us, we have done our part."

Okaro said his hesitancy stemmed in part from distrust of massive pharmaceutical companies.

He saidtalk of the vaccine was hard to avoidand he felt the pressure of that. In the end, he and his wife both decided to help their community.

"What it eventually ended up being for me was, this is a war. A war in which you get enlisted just by breathing. So, the least anyone could do is fight."

LISTEN|Dr. Kevin Wasko spoke with Stefani Langenegger about vaccine hesitancy on CBC Saskatchewan's The Morning Edition

Okoro isn't alone in his hesitancy. Dr. Kevin Wasko, physician executive for integrated rural health at the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), said such sentiment is certainly out there.

He said there's no straight answer to vaccine hesitancy, as so much of it depends on why the person is hesitating in the first place.

"The longer thatwe're in this and that we've been delivering vaccines and that we have a tried and true product, Ithink that that will help," he said.

Wasko said there are people who are hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine, but there is also a group of people who are frustrated and angry about public health restrictions, who have pushed back about masks and are also now pushing back againstthe vaccine.

"For them, I don't think those types of feelings, of a societyobligation or that sort of thing, are going to make a difference," he said. "For them, they're going to have to see what's in it for them, and I think perhaps it will be the ability to lift restrictions,return to normal."

With files from CBC Radio's The Morning Edition