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A year after the start of the pandemic and deaths in the United States are approaching 540,000. It turns out that Joe Biden’s biggest problem is no longer getting enough coronavirus vaccines or to resolve the logistics of inoculation. The challenge is to persuade hesitant Americans – including political opponents – to accept the tax-paid gift of disease protection.
What has become clear is that a combination of black Americans wary of medical malpractice, expanding anti-vaxx movement and a dollop of white Republican men could deny the country necessary “herd immunity”. to bury concerns about the coronavirus.
We are once again examining partisan politics, with accusations and counter-accusations threatening the very effort to dump the disease and pursue the business of a full and safe reopening.
It is noteworthy not only for public health reasons, but because finding a solution to American values continues to divide and confuse us.
“While there are degrees of opposition to the coronavirus vaccination among a number of groups, including African Americans and anti-vaccine activists, polls suggest that opinions, in this case, are breaking dramatically. along partisan lines, “intones the New York Times. This shows “deep skepticism among many Republicans, a group that is particularly difficult for him to persuade.”
What is remarkable here is not the relative silence of the Republican leadership in promoting vaccines and public health in the name of appearing to help Biden. Emerging data, although incomplete, shows that the disease is hitting difficult areas, especially rural areas, which have shown stronger support for Donald Trump.
Even in the weeks following the November election, analysis showed Trump was gaining strong voter support in places where COVID-19 was most prevalent. An Associated Press report showed that in 376 predominantly rural counties with the highest number of new cases per capita, 93% of those counties opted for Trump.
Polls highlight opposition
We are now hearing more of this from focus groups as well as public statements and other studies.
- In a CBS News poll, a third of Republicans said they would not be vaccinated – compared to 10% of Democrats. Another 20% of Republicans said they were unsure. Mistrust of the government and the speed of vaccine development were among the reasons given.
- A number of conservatives oppose revelations that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses cell lines created 20 years ago from fetal tissue.
- Some who already had COVID-19 believe they are immune.
- A new study of underestimated COVID-19 deaths shows that disparities in reported deaths are greatest in pro-Trump areas. Stat News, which covers health issues, says tens of thousands of U.S. deaths from COVID-19 go unreported, especially in more rural counties that have strongly supported Trump. Those areas have also fallen behind in testing, potentially masking the cause of death, said Andrew Stokes, professor of global health at the Boston University School of Public Health who performed the analysis of death certificates for Stat.
- A separate study, led by Stokes, of 787 counties with more than 20 deaths from COVID-19 last year, found the deaths were not fully attributed to the effects of the coronavirus.
The silence
Understandably, attention has been drawn to Trump, who apparently received the vaccine in December while still in the White House, but has not spoken to future followers about doing so as well. Indeed, there is an overlap between those who believe in electoral fraud and those who oppose vaccines, as the QAnon movement clearly shows, believing in the conspiracy.
Asked about it, Biden said it would be nice to have Trump involved, but he wasn’t going to beg the old guy, adding that the word from local doctors and clergy was more effective. We are now seeing receptivity in the black community.
For selfish reasons, why wouldn’t Trump want to post a video telling his supporters they should take the vaccine he supposedly created (or paid for) – just to hasten the reopening?
We learned this week that one in four U.S. House members have opted out of vaccines – all Republicans and Trump supporters. It goes against what I, as an employer here, want to see. Minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Got the shot, but spends time attacking Biden over border issues rather than promoting the vaccine. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Was vaccinated but did not talk about vaccines until the day he was inoculated. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has made reopening his state a 100% priority far more than promoting vaccines, insisting it is an individual decision.
Discussion group
The idea that people will bitterly complain about government orders for public health protection protocols and still not take personal responsibility is hard to fathom. I have the idea of insisting on individualism, on freedom, even though I believe that personal freedom is responsible when it affects my well-being. Can’t individuals decide to vaccinate or wear a mask without a government order?
How is it Biden’s problem alone with persuading partisan opponents to do the right thing that exactly coincides with their own stated desires? Where is the Republican leadership if it is an identifiable Republican problem?
The link between Republicans and opposition to vaccines is strong enough to prompt Republican pollster Frank Luntz to have assembled a focus group of Republicans who believe the coronavirus threats are real, but oppose vaccines.
The Washington Post said participants were adamant that while they or their family and friends had fallen ill, “they blamed their reluctance on factors such as the unknown long-term effects of the new vaccines. … They also accused politicians and government scientists of misleading them several times this year – often echoing Trump’s accusations that Democrats used the virus as an election year weapon and have surpassed its dangers. “
What emerged was that political calls to get the shot only hardened their opposition, The Post said. “These people represent 30 million Americans. And without these people, you don’t get collective immunity,” pollster Luntz said. Still, at the end of the two-hour session, all 19 participants, including Dr Tom Friedan of public health, said they were more likely to get the shot.
Meanwhile, we see footage of unmasked Spring Break, unmasked crowds in Texas and Florida – and still-high daily death rates.
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