They regret not getting the vaccine — and became social media evangelists for the shot

“I was just one of those that was on the fence about the covid shot,” he says in one video. “If I could avoid what I’ve been going through for the last three, four weeks, I would have got the shot long before now.”

He stresses that getting vaccinated should be a personal choice, but his message is blunt. “Get that vaccination if you can,” he says in another. “You don’t want to go through this. It’s horrible.”

Regret has become a new tool in the battle against the coronavirus. As media outlets pump out story after story of people who fell ill only to wish they’d gotten vaccinated, individuals and health institutions are sharing similar stories across social media platforms in hopes they will persuade at least some of the tens of millions of Americans who remain unvaccinated to have a change of heart and get the shot.

Dolores Albarracín, a University of Pennsylvania professor who studies human behaviors related to health, said that approach can be effective if the messages are “sincere” and “not preaching,” particularly if the advocate and the viewer share similar demographics. A White, working-class male who underwent a conversion, for example, might be able to connect with other White, working-class males who are opposed to getting vaccinated.