How COVID-19 Changed Life for People Terrified of Needles

From the moment COVID-19 reached pandemic designation, Joe McDougall had nightmares. Not, like others, about the potential path of the virus, but about the seemingly inevitable moment at which he’d be asked—or held down and forced—to receive a vaccine. McDougall, now 39, is terrified of needles and a global pandemic meant that for the first time since adolescence, he might not be able to avoid them.  [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Of all of the challenges facing mass COVID-19 vaccination, fear of needles is one of the least acknowledged by public-health campaigns. Even what we know about it is limited. It’s likely that at least 16% of adults worldwide have skipped some medical treatment—mainly annual flu vaccines)—due to concerns about needles. For an estimated quarter or more of those people, the level of anxiety and terror caused by needles coalesces into a legitimate phobia, formally called trypanophobia, that governs elements of their life and interferes with normal functioning. The exact number of people living with this phobia is nearly impossible to know, primarily because many of them steer clear of medical care entirely, choosing instead to risk missing screening and diagnosis. This avoidance can be far-reaching. People may choose to avoid everyday activities for fear of being injured and requiring needle-related medical care. Some young women have chosen to postpone or even forgo desired motherhood simpl...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news