Accurate communication for combating COVID-19

The 49-year-old doctor has again been called upon to talk about the COVID-19 vaccine to a group of refugees and migrants in Langford, in Perth’s eastern suburbs. Having fielded questions from different cultural groups for the past year, she knows their concerns won’t just be about the risk of rare blood clots.

” There is a lot of mistrust between culturally diverse people and white people. As soon as people began talking about the vaccine, people were saying ‘oh my God, this is meant to make us infertile’ “. 

 

Dr Nattabi, who also holds a PhD in international health, said the misconception that a vaccine could be used to wipe out an entire population of black people is real and exists because of an information vacuum. She said we need to get ahead of the anti-vaxxers. But she thinks a lot of times people think it is not their role.

Educating migrants one by one

Dr Nattabi knows the first step in communicating her message is by gaining people’s trust. After welcoming the group in eight different languages, her first slide flashes onto the projector screen: “You have a choice: Nobody can force you to get the vaccine”. Despite her decades of medical experience and understanding of the benefits of vaccines, she believes it is an important declaration to make upfront.

She said when she put that slide up, basically what she was saying was she didn’t come here to force anything on anyone. She was there to have a discussion. While she knows these small community talks will only reach a tiny fraction of the population, Dr Nattabi said the benefits cannot be underestimated.

“For me, one person vaccinated is helpful,” she said.