The New York Times
As Biden faces vaccine hesitation, Republicans face a particular challenge
WASHINGTON – As President Joe Biden strives to vaccinate as many Americans as possible, he is met with skepticism among many Republicans, a group that is especially challenging for him to persuade. Although there is some opposition to coronavirus vaccination among a number of groups, including African Americans and anti-vaccine activists, polls suggest that opinions in this case are essentially breaking along biased lines. A third of Republicans said in a CBS poll that they would not be vaccinated – compared to 10% of Democrats – and another 20% of Republicans said they were not sure. Other polls found similar trends. Sign up for The Morning Newsletter of the New York Times With the Biden government preparing television and Internet advertisements and other efforts to promote vaccination, the challenge for the White House is compounded by the perception of former President Donald Trump’s position on the issue. Although Trump was vaccinated before leaving office and last month urged conservatives to be vaccinated, many of his supporters seem reluctant to do so, and he has played no prominent role in promoting vaccination. Asked about the issue Monday in the White House, Biden said Trump’s assistance in promoting vaccination is less important than getting trusted community figures on board. “I discussed it with my team, and they say the thing that has more impact than anything Trump would say to the MAGA people is what the local doctor does, what the local preachers say, what the locals in the community say. “Biden said. referring to Trump’s supporters and slogan “Make America Great Again.” Biden added that Americans should continue to wear masks until everyone has been vaccinated. The widespread resistance to vaccination, if not overcome, could prevent the United States from reaching the point where the virus can no longer spread easily, leading to efforts to resettle the economy and put people back in a more can return to normal life. While the problem so far includes access to relatively limited vaccine, administrative officials expect that they will soon face the possibility of greater demand than most Americans. But many conservative and rural voters still point to different concerns. Some conservatives harbor religious concerns about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which uses abortion-derived fetal cell lines. Republicans often cite mistrust in government as a reason not to be vaccinated, the CBS poll found. They are concerned that the vaccines are being produced too quickly. And in some communities, so many people already have the coronavirus that they think they have developed herd immunity and do not need the shots. Other Trump supporters believe the Democrats have exaggerated the toll of the pandemic to hurt the former president. This presents a major challenge for a Democratic government whose success depends on convincing Americans who did not vote for Biden to trust that the vaccines are safe, effective and necessary. “We are not always the best messengers,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week. This meant that an important part of the coronavirus response was outsourced from the administration. “It’s not an easy undertaking,” said John Bridgeland, founder and CEO of the COVID Collaborative, a dual group of political and scientific leaders involved in vaccine education, who regularly works with the White House. meeting on the issue of vaccination. “The good news is that the White House exists everywhere in all of these populations, including that they are not so well positioned to reach conservatives,” he said. “That’s why they reach out to us and others.” Governors have urged the Biden administration to address the need for clear communication on vaccines. According to White House officials, their research showed that the availability of the vaccines was more accessible and that local purchases by doctors and pharmacists were the best way to incite skeptical conservatives to sign up for a shot. They are planning an ad blitz on television, radio and the internet to target problem areas: young people, coloreds and conservatives, an administration official said. Although they work to improve the availability of vaccines across the country, administration officials also work with groups such as the NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association and the National Farmers Union to reach out to rural communities on their behalf. Shirley Bloomfield, the association’s chief executive, is working with the White House to share what she hears about her members in the field setting up broadband lines in rural areas. “We have worked to ensure that they are designated as essential workers at the federal level,” she said. “I did not realize we had this problem until people came back and said less than 30% of my team would take the chance.” Bloomfield said the office of the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, reached out directly to her to ask about her members and their attitude toward the vaccines. Trump got his vaccine in secret before leaving office. He was particularly absent from a public service announcement in which all the other former presidents – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter – are vaccinated and others are encouraged to follow their example. Trump was not asked to participate, as were the others, because at the time it was filmed, during Biden’s inauguration, he had not yet announced that he had been vaccinated. But behind the scenes, there was a silent attempt to persuade Trump to get involved. Joe Grogan, the former director of the White House’s Home Affairs Council under Trump, is working with the COVID Collaborative to address vaccine hesitation among conservatives. Grogan made calls about what the best message would be to take Trump to persuade him to get involved – one that inevitably underscores his desire to credit the development of the vaccines under Operation Warp Speed. “Once we found out he had been vaccinated, I reached out to Joe Grogan,” said Bridgeland, who helped organize the ad with former presidents. “We were very happy that he was vaccinated and would very much like him to encourage his supporters to get the vaccine.” A Trump adviser said the former president had not yet been formally approached to speak directly to his supporters. “Having President Trump make a public service announcement would be very helpful,” Grogan said. However, the Biden White House appears to be divided on how effective Trump’s involvement would really be. Although Biden appeared contemptuous on Monday of the need for Trump’s help, his chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci told Fox News on Sunday that it would “make a difference in the world” if the former president encouraged his supporters. to be vaccinated. Andy Slavitt, a senior White House pandemic adviser, said Sunday: “This is an effort, what Republicans need to know, started before we got here, and we are doing it.” Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist, said the best way for the White House is to get politics out of the question. “That means Joe Biden has to acknowledge what Donald Trump did to promote the vaccine,” Luntz said. He works with the de Beaumont Foundation, an organization that aims to improve public health through policy, to encourage conservatives to be vaccinated. “I do not believe the Trump administration has understood the role of communication,” Luntz said, “and I do not think the Biden administration understands what it means to communicate to Trump voters.” On Saturday, Luntz hosted a focus group of about 20 conservatives to hear from Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey; and several Republican members of Congress. Some conservatives initially described the vaccinations as ‘rushed’ and ‘experimental’ and described the coronavirus as ‘opportunistic’ and ‘government manipulation’. More than half of the supporters said that their fear of being vaccinated was greater than their fear of the virus. But almost everyone on the call said they had a more positive view of the vaccines, after Frieden gave them five facts about the virus, including: “The more we vaccinate, the faster we can grow around the vaccine. grow the economy and get jobs. ” Christie emphasized how random the virus can be in affecting different people, including younger adults. Not only did he and Trump get very sick with it, but he also reminded the group that Hope Hicks, the 32-year-old former Trump adviser, was also very ill. “She was a good ten days without it and never had to be admitted to the hospital, but called me and said it was the disease she had ever been,” Christie said. For now, the White House is relying on the work of political opponents like Christie to sell the message to them. The one substitute from within Biden’s government who considers them effective among conservatives is dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, who is a scientist and an evangelical Christian who stands in both religious and scientific communities. Collins has been appearing in the “700 Club” of the Christian Broadcasting Network for the past few weeks, a program popular with evangelical Christians presented by Pat Robertson for decades. According to someone familiar with the planning, Collins also plans to address the National Association of Evangelicals. Joshua DuBois, the former head of the White House office of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships, under Obama, said he was impressed by the Biden government’s efforts to reduce vaccine hesitation. He said top advisers to Biden, such as Marcella Nunez-Smith and Cameron Webb, had appealed to the religious community to answer questions about the vaccinations. The calls included black and Spanish organizations and white evangelists. DuBois acknowledged that the hesitation in minority communities has been rooted in history. When coronavirus vaccines were introduced in the past year, researchers looked at an increase in social reports about the infamous Tuskegee study in which health officials followed African-American men who were infected with syphilis and were not treated. “There is a history of mistrust, but a current devastation is taking place around us,” DuBois said, “and in response to the devastation, people are choosing to be vaccinated.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company