Whenever I run across controversies around words, a common occurrence now thanks to social media, I tend not to weigh in too quickly, if at all; rather, I like to start with the basics—the word’s etymology and dictionary definition.
Take the word hesitancy. In the healthcare context, it is often used in reference to vaccine hesitancy. Does this have a negative connotation?
Well, etymologically, this word stems from the Latin word “haesitantia”— the “action of stammering,” and the present participle “haesitare”—”to stick fast, stammer”.
And the Oxford English Dictionary definition of hesitancy is “The quality or condition of hesitating; indecision, vacillation; an instance of this.”
So, at least in broad strokes, I would say there is a mild negative connotation to the word hesitancy, and perhaps the word undecided—at least in then context the vaccines—is a better substitute most of the time.