Scarcity, peace of mind led to pop-up vaccine clinic frenzy: expert

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Don’t bother lining up at a park or recreation centre in Fraser Health in hopes of getting a COVID-19 vaccine this weekend.

Pop-up clinics have been stopped, for now, as both the health authority and provincial government apologize for the confusion and frustration surrounding them, but a psychologist says there was logic to the mad dash.

The clinics were meant for people living in high-transmission areas, but after word got around that people who didn’t live in a hot zone were getting shots as well, rumours and word of mouth prompted thousands of all ages to flood the locations the clinics were happening in — even before it was clear if one would actually be happening. Some, waited up to four hours in the long lines just to get a shot while others were turned away after waiting just as long.

All adults in BC will be able to get a #COVID19 vaccine soon + even if you get one you're still under restrictions – so why the pop-up clinic frenzy? Scarcity + peace of mind among reasons says psychologist."You see everybody else getting it + it makes you wanna get it yourself."

— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) April 30, 2021

“There’s a lot of reasons why people act irrationally when there’s the perception of scarcity, but in this case I think few of those apply,” says Azim Shariff, an associate professor of psychology at UBC.

“This actually is a situation where people would feel a rational sense of urgency and it’s good that they do.”

There are a few rational reasons people are eager to get the vaccine right away, according to Shariff. The biggest one being that we’ve been told the sooner everybody gets vaccinated, the better off we are.

“The sooner you get it, the more peace of mind you have. It’s best to have that peace of mind sooner rather than later,” he says. “It is something where you see everybody else getting it and it makes you want to get it yourself because a norm has been set about how much better life seems to be once you have it.”

Shariff adds vaccines have become the ultimate example of scarcity and the scarcity mindset affects people in a very specific way.

“It makes people super envious about when other people have it,” he says.

He says the rush for a COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t quite compare to the rush we saw for toilet paper last year.

“The perception of scarcity — which was a false scarcity — created the scarcity, which then became a real thing. So it became a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Shariff explains. “But in the case of the vaccine, there really is a real scarcity.”

Related articles:

• Dr. Bonnie Henry, Fraser Health apologize for pop-up vaccine clinic confusion
• Calls for better communication as pop-up vaccination clinics draw thousands
• Flood of Pfizer set to provide B.C. with COVID-19 vaccine boost

On Thursday, the CEO of the Fraser Health Authority, Dr. Victoria Lee recognized there could have been better strategies to manage the lines as well as better communication with the communities. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said officials were regrouping to see what worked and what can be done better to distribute vaccines as more arrive in the coming weeks.

“You will get your vaccine and there is enough vaccine coming in the next two months that everybody will get their turn,” she said. “The most efficient way to do it is to register, and you’ll be notified as soon as your age category comes up and you can book yourself into the clinic that will have your vaccine for you.”

The mad dash happened despite the province saying every adult in B.C. will be able to get a shot by mid-June, and those who have been vaccinated so far are still expected to follow restrictions.

– With files from the Canadian Press