SCOR urges re/insurers to relay positive COVID-19 vaccination message

SCOR has called on re/insurers to help get the message out about the broad health benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19 amid scepticism and medical concerns.

The reinsurer said that the industry needed to help bust the myths around vaccinations that are creating fear and distrust and leading to a lower take up of the jab.

In a statement, the reinsurer said: “While governments are endeavoring to increase the availability of vaccines, we as global citizens should be preparing to receive them. “Unfortunately, many remain sceptical, even fearful, of getting a COVID-19 vaccination.

“Several misconceptions and questions are feeding this fear. We as re/insurers have a responsibility to help people understand the health and societal benefits of ‘getting the jab’.”

SCOR advocated five ways to encourage people to get the jab. It urged re/insurers to highlight that the vaccine is not ‘new’ and has not been rushed into production. “The reality is that both the adenovirus and the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination delivery methods have been studied and tested for years. And the speed at which the vaccines were produced is not a reflection of rushing, but of the immense advances in technology and data modeling over the past decades,” it said.

The French headquartered reinsurer also emphasised that the vaccines do not put you at risk of contracting COVID-19, adding that an mRNA vaccine delivers instructions to human cells on how to identify and fight the virus. And the adenovirus vaccine uses a virus that is safe to “trick” the body into producing antigens that will fight infection.

Another common concern that SCOR wishes re/insurers to address centres on the side effects of the jab, which the reinsurer called “minimal”. It said: “In clinical trials, the side effects of the vaccine are similar in nature to those experienced by trial patients receiving a placebo injection.” However, SCOR added that it must be noted that “the vaccine does affect people with a history of severe allergic reactions” although methods to support people affected are in place.

In addition, wide spread theories that the mRNA vaccine could impact human DNA are misplaced, the reinsurer said, adding: “There is no way for mRNA to enter the nucleus of a cell and coexist with our DNA.

“mRNA cannot live long in the body, so once the delivery of information is completed, mRNA cells die and are expelled – only the memory of the attack-plan remains.”

Addressing a fourth concern about the jab, SCOR stated that being vaccinated does not aggravate comorbidities that are known to provoke the most severe versions of the virus, such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory issues, obesity, etc. This is because the vaccine “does not introduce the virus into the body, [so] there is no risk that an existing comorbidity would be impacted”, it explained.

SCOR encouraged re/insurers to persuade everyone to play their part by being vaccinated even if they think they are not at risk. “The first misconception is that young adults are not at risk – the sad reality is that thousands aged 25 to 44 have already died. But aside from alleviating our own individual risk, this is an act for the greater good and the protection of society. It is our civic responsibility to get the vaccine to protect everyone, not just ourselves.”

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