“A CBS/YouGov poll released this weekend found 33 percent of GOP voters say they will not get the vaccine when it’s available to them. Another 20 percent say they aren’t sure.” “The-daily-202” After being thoroughly satisfied that Moderna was safe and effective, I have received both of my jabs. But I sympathize with those who are skeptical and/or distrusting of the information they have been fed over the last year. The messaging from the Trump administration was inconsistent and the CDC has now removed some earlier postings that had been more influenced by politics than by science (which, by the way, is far from having all of the answers yet).
In addition to poor messaging from the government, some badly misguided, if not deliberately evil, groups have spread false information. So, I find it very encouraging that many of those refusing to get the vaccine say that they “want to be educated not indoctrinated. The responses of focus group participants suggest they can be persuaded — but perhaps not by politicians, including the former president…. Be honest that scientists don’t have all the answers. Tout the number of people who got the vaccines in trials. And don’t show pro-vaccine ads with politicians — not even ones with Donald Trump. That’s what a focus group of vaccine-hesitant Trump voters insisted to politicians and pollsters this weekend….
“’These people represent 30 million Americans. And without these people, you’re not getting herd immunity,’ said Frank Luntz, the longtime GOPpollster who convened Saturday’s focus group over Zoom.” Unfortunately Mr. Luntz is speaking nonsense as well. We would still get herd immunity even without a vaccine as people would acquire immunity as a result of being infected. The process would be slower with more deaths, but we would get there. I am sure that Mr. Luntz meant well.
Participants in these focus groups “all believed the coronavirus threat was real, with many having contracted it themselves or aware of critically ill friends and family, and they didn’t want to be condemned as “anti-vaxxers” who opposed all vaccines. Instead, they blamed their hesitation on factors like the unknown long-term effects of new vaccines, even though scientists have stressed their confidence in the products. They also accused politicians and government scientists of repeatedly misleading them this past year….
“For instance, [House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy said he understood the Trump voters’ hesitation because pharmaceutical companies waited until after Trump lost the election to announce their promising vaccine results — a comment that sparked participants to share their own resentments.
‘It was political stunts like that that leave doubt in our minds,’ said a man identified as David from Texas.”
In another session “a man called Chad from Minnesota,… praised [former head of the CDC Dr.] Frieden for acknowledging that the long-term risks of the vaccines aren’t yet known. “He’s just honest with us and telling us, nothing is 100 percent here, people.”
The lessons are clear. The best results are obtained by treating the public like adults. The government needs to honestly present the best information available, acknowledging what is known and what is uncertain.
“’I’ve been thinking the messaging was going to be very different for communities of color, for Democrats, for Republicans,’ said Natalie Davis, co-founder of United States of Care, a public health advocacy group working on vaccine outreach with organizations like the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Family Foundation. ‘But it feels like it comes down to the basics that are shared across populations. People want full, accurate information so they can decide if this is the right thing for them and their loved ones….’
“‘The vaccines were approved quickly in part because red tape was cut, not corners,’ [Dr. Frieden said. ‘And almost all the doctors who are offered the vaccine get it.’” “Vaccine hesitant republicans focus group”
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