But, see, people don't work that way. If you say that the risk of dying from Covid is 1%, and the risk from the vaccine is 0.001%, (at least some) people can look at those numbers and figure out what's reasonable to do. But if you say that the risk from Covid is 1% and the vaccine is "safe", then people think you mean the risk from the vaccine is 0, and they say, "You're lying; my cousin's co-worker's nephew got sick from it", and they will refuse to take it.
Be honest about the risk of the vaccine. It's less, but it's not zero. Tell people that - all of that. Neither BSing them nor trying to force them has worked; try telling them the truth. Officially, consistently, tell them all of the truth - the risk as well as the safety.
[Edit: Of course, telling them the truth may not actually work either... at least, not if you define "work" as "they get the vaccine". But even so, at least they had the information to make a real choice.]
That's pretty much what most health authorities are saying though if you read more than 5 words of their statements? Starting with the AZ problems (which obviously weren't a thing in the US since it just stockpiled AZ, but a big topic in Europe) it's pretty much always has been "problems are rare, we continue to recommend it based on the benefit being way larger than the risk" (except in the countries that decided they don't evaluate it that way and restricted/stopped use). Same now with myocarditis. And promptly the complaints shift to "they are lying, the numbers are actually way worse than they say!".
If you go to the CDC website about the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine,[1] there's a banner at the top of the page about myocarditis. Later down the page, there are sections titled "Who Should Get Vaccinated," "Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated" and "Possible Side Effects." None of this has been covered up.
I don't think the public health authorities are to blame here. I would blame the politicians and media figures who have discovered that being anti-vax or vaccine "skeptical" boosts their popularity.
OK, but also blame the politicians who are all "Thou Shalt Vax".
Telling people "this can cause myocarditis, and here's the people who should not get it" is telling people the truth. But that and a vaccine mandate cannot coexist without people rebelling against the mandate (which is in fact happening).
Part of telling people the truth is letting them decide what to do with the information. "Here, I'm trusting you with the truth, now you have to decide the way I think you should" doesn't fly, especially when the truth is a mixed bag. ("Who should not get vaccinated" tells you that the truth is in fact a mixed bag.)
The problem is that public health measures require participation from the entire community. Extreme individualism prevents rational public health policy, and becomes antisocial at some point. Unless someone has a medical reason not to get vaccinated, they should get vaccinated, as part of their responsibility to the people they live around.
Be honest about the risk of the vaccine. It's less, but it's not zero. Tell people that - all of that. Neither BSing them nor trying to force them has worked; try telling them the truth. Officially, consistently, tell them all of the truth - the risk as well as the safety.
[Edit: Of course, telling them the truth may not actually work either... at least, not if you define "work" as "they get the vaccine". But even so, at least they had the information to make a real choice.]