Research by Tilburg University has shown that approximately six million people have a fear of injection. This shows that almost 1.2 million Dutch people do not want to get a vaccination because they are afraid of needles.
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Can such a vaccination not be given in another way? According to Annemieke Horikx, pharmacist at the KNMP pharmacy organization, 95 percent of vaccinations must be given through an injection needle.
Demolished
“Many vaccines cannot be given orally because they contain certain proteins that would be broken down in the stomach,” she explains to EditieNL. “That applies to more medicines. Insulin, for example, for diabetes patients. That would also be broken down in the stomach.”
So there is no other choice. Although hard work is being done behind the scenes on solutions and alternatives. Elisabeth Huis in ‘t Veld, researcher at Sanquin and Tilburg University, is working on a way to get rid of fear of injection. Because it is not something you can easily solve yourself.
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“It’s an automatic system in the brain. You have little influence on it. You can’t just get over that fear. We know that staying calm, distracting, or trying to be receptive doesn’t actually work.”
Game
“I have a app developed who can see from your face whether you are showing signs of fear “, she tells EditieNL. The app can then try to calm the user with certain games.
“For example, in the app you can try to make a ball bounce slowly, in order to lower your heart rate. The advantage is that you learn to find out for yourself what works for you. And that’s better than if someone else tells you. . “
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There are also other techniques for giving vaccines. For example, a vaccine can be injected into the skin via a laser beam or with high pressure. Vaccine manufacturers AstraZeneca and Moderna inform EditieNL that their corona vaccine can only be given by injection.
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