The guardian
“Why wouldn’t you?” Terrified when Republican men say they will not get Covid vaccine
A recent poll reported that 49% of Republican men said they would not get the chance as mixed messages continued among Conservatives. A protester is holding a sign against lockdown, masks, Covid testing and vaccinations in Sacramento, California on May 23, 2020. Photo: Stanton Sharpe / SOPA Images / REX / Shutterstock Nothing will change Ron Holloway’s mind when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine: he’s not going to get it. “I just feel like God created us, made our bodies in such a wonderful way that we can almost do our own vaccination,” Holloway, 75, told The Guardian. “In most cases we are equipped to do that. I just do not see the need for it. Holloway is among potential millions of men who identify the Republican and who say they have no plans to get the coronavirus vaccine. According to a recent NPR / PBS NewsHour / Marist poll, 49% of Republican men told pollsters they would not get the sting; the poll is among recent analyzes claiming that vaccine hesitation is the highest among this demographic. These data raised the alarm for pathologists, who have struggled to combat Covid-19 amid the sharp politicization of public health policies, as is often the Republican opposition to mask mandates and business regulations and the frequent crackdown on conspiracy theories. “How such a large part of a certain group of people do not want to be vaccinated due to political considerations … it makes absolutely no sense,” said the American top expert, dr. Anthony Fauci, said recently. ‘What’s the problem here? It is a vaccine that will be life-saving for millions of people. “Some powerful Republicans have encouraged people to keep mixed messages among some conservatives. Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently criticized the Biden administration’s vaccination efforts, saying: ‘If you want them to take the vaccine, do not reprimand it, do not issue any more instructions, calm their fears by rationally explaining the benefits and risks of the vaccine. The de Beaumont Foundation, an organization focused on improving public health, held a focus group on March 13 to understand opposition to the vaccine among Republicans. The group consists of 19 members, men and women, who have identified themselves as Republicans. The selected participants responded ‘maybe’ or ‘probably not’ when asked if they would get a Covid vaccine. Group leader Frank Luntz, a Republican veteran, asked participants, “When I say Covid-19 vaccination, vaccination … what do you think of first?” One man replied, “A miracle, though suspicious.” One man said ‘chased’, while another said ‘experimental’. One man said, “Do not hold my freedom hostage.” Alec Tyson, co-director of research at Pew Research Center, said there was a “similar dynamic” between the biased gap in beliefs about Covid-19’s threat to public health and attitudes toward vaccinations. “Republicans were much less concerned than Democrats” about the risk of Covid-19 for public health, Tyson said. “Vaccination is one of the most important aspects of this attitude.” While investigating the set-up of vaccines, Tyson said Pew researchers asked those who do not currently want the vaccine. Among those who did not want to take the vaccine, Tyson said Republicans in this group “are more likely to tell us they do not think they need it, than Democrats who do not intend to get it. “. Panayiota Kendeou, professor of educational psychology and Guy Bond chair at the University of Minnesota, said that while some hesitation against vaccines was’ predictable ‘, some’ were also unique to the kind of political climate, the way the pandemic dealing with ‘the US and around the world, and the politics that made the waters a bit muddy in terms of decision making and the consequences of our decisions ”. Kendeou explained that hesitation against vaccines is traditionally promoted by a number of known factors, saying: ‘the most important is our perceived risk of infection’. Perceived side effects are also important when people weigh or need to get vaccinated. “In the content of the Covid-19 vaccine, those who experience the health risks in terms of the fact that they get the disease, and also fear about the side effects of the vaccine, have gained political orientation,” Kendeou said. “For example, we have seen in the USA that certain groups are more or less afraid of the Covid-19 virus and doubt the severity of the pandemic. Of course, that translates to the kind of collapse of the vaccine we see spotting. Loren Anthony Williams – a self-described “moderate conservative” who says: “I’m by no means a fiery, stubborn tractor” – “probably did not” answer the question of whether he would get the Covid-19 vaccine. Williams, who works in the medical marijuana industry, said he is not an ‘anti-waxxer or anything like that’ but remains skeptical, saying the jab ‘was involved in a healthy dose of politics because Trump tried to to get it out. there in November before the election ”. Asked about the politicization later, Williams explained: “I think it was politicized a lot by Trump. He calls it Operation Warp Speed and does everything in his power to get it out there before the election. “While Trump ‘did have the well-being of the country in mind,’ Williams said, he also had political goals. Williams said his personal political beliefs play no role in his skepticism about the vaccine. I’m not a chemist or biologist. Maybe I would change my mind if I knew how it was made and put in it. Loren Anthony Williams. The 35-year-old Detroit resident also said, ‘I do not need it, because I’m a pretty healthy young person, and if I get a coronavirus, I’ll do well without the vaccine. I would overcome it on my own. ‘For older people or people at risk, I would not discourage them from getting the vaccine. It’s their choice. It will probably benefit them much more because they have a higher risk, ‘Williams continued, saying his older parents had already received the vaccine. Asked if anything could change his opinion, Williams said ‘maybe’. “Because I’m not a chemist or a biologist, I might be able to change my mind if I know how it’s made and is. However, some Republicans are skeptical about statistics on vaccine withdrawal among men in the party. Andrew Bilardello, who runs a Republican club in The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in Florida, told The Guardian: ‘The majority of the people here are registered Republicans, and the majority of the people here get the vaccine. . ‘ Bilardello, a retired police chief, pointed out that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the area last week and presented the Johnson & Johnson one-vaccine vaccine, and that he recently announced that he was eligible for vaccination. Bilardello, 63, said he was going to get the Johnson & Johnson jab. “I drive through the vaccination sites and I have to tell you: every day that I pass, there are lines to take the vaccine,” Bilardello said. Everyone cares, everyone wears masks … For most people here in the towns, they take the pandemic here very seriously. “Joe Martin, a Republican in Georgia, said he had not seen the hesitation of the vaccine among his peers.” He said people who did not get it had access problems but were not hesitant. “All the people I know are all going to eat out because we had the chance,” Martin, 77, said. “Once you get the chance, you’re free to hang out and do all sorts of things. Why would you not want to? ”Despite reported levels of increased vaccine or vaccine resistance, there is evidence that thoughts may change. Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provided five facts about Covid-19 to participants in de Beaumont’s virtual focus group. From the facts: more than 90% of the doctors who were offered the vaccine decided to get it. When the focus group ended, 16 said they were more willing to get the vaccine, the organization said.