Fear of needles? Public health can help

GUELPH – There are many reasons some people don’t want vaccinations, but if it’s fear of needles, public health has you covered.

Karen Mulvey, manager of vaccine preventable disease with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), told the board of health on Sept. 3 that staff have been researching, with the University of Toronto, how to alleviate fear of needles.

They now have a program first rolled out in the 2023/24 school year as WDGPH began its Grade 7 immunization program.

Called CARD (comfort, ask, relax, distract), this evidence-based approach helps reduce fear, pain and stress during student vaccinations through preparation and personalized coping strategies.

WDGPH targeted schools with low vaccination rates to administer the program to see if it helped.

Officials started with pre-clinic education so students would know what to expect and how to cope with their fears.

They tailored the clinic set-up so there was privacy, distraction items and sharps were out of sight until in use.

Officials saw an increase of 9.8 per cent for the HPV vaccine; an increase of 8.1% for Hepatitis B vaccine, and an increase of 5.3% for the Meningococcal vaccine.

Medical officer of health Dr. Nicola Mercer said anyone with a fear of needles can request the service at any public health vaccination clinic as the CARD program is effective with adults as well.