So few people have come for COVID-19 vaccinations in one state in North Carolina that hospitals there now allow anyone 16 or older to get a chance, no matter where they live. Get a chance, get a free donut, the governor said.
Alabama, with the lowest vaccination rate in the country and a country where only 7% of the population is fully vaccinated, has launched a campaign to convince people that the shots are safe. Doctors and ministers joined in.
At the national level, the Biden government launched a “We can do it” campaign this week to encourage detainees to be vaccinated against the virus, which has claimed more than 550,000 lives in the US.
The race is to vaccinate as many people as possible, but a significant number of Americans have so far been reluctant to get the shots, even in places where they are plentiful. Twenty-five percent of Americans say, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, that they are likely or definitely not to be vaccinated.
They are lazy about possible side effects. They tend to be Republican, and they are usually younger and less likely to become critically ill or die if they get COVID-19.
However, there has been a slight shift since the first weeks of the country’s largest vaccination campaign ever, which began in mid-December. An AP-NORC poll conducted in late January showed that 67% of adult Americans were willing to be vaccinated, or that they had already received at least one shot. Now the figure has climbed to 75%.
According to experts, it brings the nation closer to herd immunity, which occurs when enough people have immunity, whether against vaccination or infection, to stop the uncontrolled spread of a disease.
About 75% to 85% of the total population – including children who are not currently receiving the shots – need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, said Ali Mokdad, professor of health sciences at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health. .
Just over three months after the first doses were given, 100 million Americans, or about 30% of the population, received at least one dose.
Andrea Richmond, a 26-year-old freelance web coder in Atlanta, is among those whose reluctance subsides. A few weeks ago, Richmond leaned not to get the chance. Possible long-term effects worried her. She knew that an H1N1 vaccine used years ago in Europe increased the risk of narcolepsy.
Then her sister was vaccinated without adverse effects. The opinions of Richmond’s friends have also changed.
‘They went from’ I do not trust it ‘to’ I am completely resurrected, let’s go out! ”
Her mother, a cancer survivor who Richmond lives with, is so eager for her daughter to be vaccinated that she reported her online.
“I’ll probably take it,” Richmond said. “I think it’s my civic duty.”
But some remain steadfastly opposed.
“I think I only had the flu once,” said Lori Mansour, 67, who lives near Rockford, Illinois. “So I think I’ll take my chances.”
In the latest poll, Republicans remained more likely than Democrats to say they were likely or definitely not to be vaccinated, 36% compared to 12%. But somewhat fewer Republicans are reluctant today. In January, 44% said they were shying away from a vaccine.
The hesitation can be seen in rural Winston County, Alabama, which is 96% white and where last year more than 90% of voters supported then-President Donald Trump. Only 6.9% of the country’s approximately 24,000 residents are fully vaccinated, the lowest level in Alabama.
Elsewhere in Alabama, health officials have tried to counter problems that include reluctance in heavily black areas where mistrust in government medical initiatives runs deep. They targeted a few provinces with a pro-vaccine message, especially in the old plantation region where a large percentage of the population is black and very poor.
The campaign called in doctors and pastors and used virtual meetings and the radio to spread the word.
Dr Karen Landers, assistant state health officer, said the effort had positive results. In Perry County, where 68% of the population of about 9,300 residents is black, more than 16% of the population is fully vaccinated, among the highest levels. Officials are likely to make similar efforts for other parts of the state, she said.
Nationwide, 24% of black Americans and 22% of Hispanics say they are likely or definitely not to be vaccinated, up from 41% and 34% in January, respectively. Among white Americans, 26% now say they will not be vaccinated. In January, it was 31%.
The Biden administration’s campaign includes TV and social media ads. Celebrities and community and religious figures join in.
The Iowa government, Kim Reynolds, a Republican, is trying to win over a third of the adult Iowans who are not committed to getting a vaccine, emphasizing that the shots will help bring life back to normal.
In North Carolina, Cumberland County, less than 1 in 6 residents received at least one shot.
Amid concerns that there will be an unused surplus of vaccines, the Cape Fear Valley Health Hospital systems last week opened the shots for anyone 16 years or older.
“Instead of dosing unused, we want to give more people the chance to get their vaccine,” said Chris Tart, vice president of Cape Fear Valley Health. “We hope it will encourage more people to roll up their sleeves.”
Democrat Roy Cooper’s government tweeted a video on Wednesday getting a free donut from the Krispy Kreme chain. Customers who show their vaccine card can get a free donut every day for the rest of the year.
“Do it today, guys!” Cooper encouraged viewers. Nearly 36% of North Carolina adults are at least partially vaccinated, state data shows.
Younger people are likely to take a shot. Of those under 45, 31% say they will most likely or definitely miss a shot. Only 12% of those aged 60 and over say they will not be vaccinated.
Ronni Peck, a 40-year-old mother of three children from Los Angeles, is one of those planning to prevent being vaccinated, at least for now. She is concerned that vaccines have not been studied for long-term health consequences. She feels that some friends do not approve of her attitude.
“But I stopped making myself feel like I was being rejected, but learned to give it more time if I did the right thing for myself and my kids,” Peck said.
Deborah Fuller, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said if the level of immunity could not be reached soon, a more realistic target could be at least 50% of the population vaccinated by summer, with a higher vaccination rate among the most vulnerable to reduce serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths.
“In this scenario, the virus would continue in the population, but cease to be a major health threat that burdens our healthcare systems too much,” Fuller said.
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Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon. Fingerhut reported from Washington. Weber reports from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Bryan Anderson in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama, also contributed to this story.
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The AP-NORC survey among 1,166 adults was conducted on March 26-29 using a sample from the NORC-based AmeriSpeak panel, designed to be representative of the American population. The sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.