New Survey Shows Improved Mental Health Following COVID-19 Vaccination

^{By Julie Gould}  

Jim Cohn, senior director of global corporate communications for Walgreens Boots Alliance, reviews the findings from a new Walgreens survey, explaining that 73% of respondents reported improved mental health following their vaccination.

We spoke with Mr Cohn to better understand how these results can be used in clinical practice, and what pharmacists should take away from the survey.  

Can you talk about the recent Walgreens survey? What led you to conduct this? 

The survey was designed to better understand overall consumer sentiment post-vaccination, and to what extent it’s given people peace of mind, as well as a much greater comfort level with resuming activities and their pre-pandemic lifestyle.

Our pharmacists have seen first-hand some of the emotion from customers who’ve gotten their vaccine, and so we really wanted to capture that and dig a little deeper into the emotional side of COVID vaccination.  

What were some of the major findings of the survey? Were you surprised by any of these findings?  

One of the interesting and positive findings is that 73% of respondents reported improved mental health following their vaccination.

This is notable because we know that the pandemic has taken a significant toll on our nation’s mental and emotional health and wellbeing.  In fact, the CDC cites signs and symptoms for depression and anxiety having nearly quadrupled over the past year as a result.   

As it relates to post-vaccine sentiment, #1 on the list was a sense of relief, followed by thankfulness and optimism.

The findings really underscore how the COVID-19 vaccines have been a catalyst for people returning to some of the activities they’ve missed most. 

How can these results be used in clinical practice? 

We would encourage people who’ve paused health care or self-care practices to get back to those activities as soon as they feel comfortable post-vaccination. For example, regular health screenings, immunizations, eye, and hearing exams play an important role in our overall health and wellness.

Some of the impacts of the pandemic will be felt for a long time, and every little bit helps in terms of understanding consumer behavior, as well as impacts to both physical and mental health. 

What can pharmacists take away from this Walgreens survey? How can this help them better serve their patients? 

We know that the COVID-19 vaccines are effective, and immunization is perhaps the single most important tool we have to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help protect our communities.

Walgreens, and our pharmacists, will continue to serve our communities through efforts that drive COVID-19 vaccination access, awareness, and information. These include a number of ongoing initiatives, private and public vaccine clinic partnerships and the advancement of key priorities identified as part of our Vaccine Equity Initiative.  

For our pharmacists, providing personalized care to patients is a top priority, and it’s another source of insight into customer sentiment at a critical time as we continue to play an integral role in vaccine administration. 

What else would you like to add to this conversation? 

We also looked at what motivated people to get vaccinated. While nearly 70% of respondents were looking to get the vaccine “as soon as it became available” to them, 29% said they had some initial hesitancy or mixed feelings. Our survey found that this group was more likely to say that they decided to get vaccinated to help protect others, or at the urging of friends and family.