Given the high level of hesitation among Republicans and rural Americans, a coalition of health groups and foundations turned to Frank Luntz, a prominent GOP opinion pollster and messenger. He found that the mind does not change by giving lectures, being ashamed or even appealing to abstract ideas about what is right. What resonates highlights how vaccines can make people and their loved ones safe – and how it can help life return to normal.
“Family is by far the most powerful motivator for accepting vaccine,” Luntz reported. “Significantly more Americans said they were most willing to take the vaccine for their family as opposed to ‘your country’, ‘the economy’, ‘your community’ or ‘your friends’. ” (He also has a very pronounced preference for the word ‘vaccine’ over ‘sting’.)
Military veterans offer a glimpse into the challenge. The Department of Veterans Affairs delivered shots almost as fast as it could get, but struggled to make contact with rural veterinarians.
As of mid-February, the department had vaccinated about 29 percent of white veterans, but only 4.8 percent of rural areas. The low usage can be partly explained by logistical problems surrounding the transport and storage of the first two authorized vaccines, which have to be kept extremely cold, but the department is also trying to change the attitude towards the shot. The VA plans to meet focus groups and partner with veteran service organizations to articulate the word.
“We are deliberately trying to send a message about it,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough recently told reporters.
Vaccination of vaccines does not fall squarely into two camps – “hell yes” or “hell no”. There is a large group in the middle who are nervous or uncertain about vaccinations, but who are not irrevocably opposed to it. This is who public health messengers believe they can reach – and that they need to reach out in greater numbers to make the immunization campaign a success, said Mollyann Brodie, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which oversees the vote. .
Kaiser’s most recent survey last month found an encouraging shift from the “wait and see” group. Those who reported being ‘eager’ to be vaccinated rose to 55 percent, up from 34 percent in December.
But there was little movement among the hard “no” groups. For example, the proportion of Republicans who said they would not get a chance under any circumstances, or only if they were forced to work, dropped so slightly, from 24 percent to 22 percent.
It is a challenge to achieve herd immunity, which according to experts will occur when 70 to 85 percent of the population is vaccinated.
Rural clinics also had practical barriers. Shots from Pfizer and Moderna are harder to send and store than most traditional vaccines, and are not suitable for small rural communities. The latest shot, from Johnson & Johnson, is easier to handle and is the first to require just one dose, so it can be a boon for rural areas and places where people have to travel long distances to be vaccinated. The downside is that the J&J shot may be less desirable than Pfizer and Moderna, which had higher overall efficiency figures in clinical trials. However, health officials have tried to emphasize that J&J offers excellent protection against hospitalization and the death of Covid-19.
No matter what kind of government and health departments do vaccines, healthcare providers have said they recognize that the personal relationships they forge with patients are one of the best ways to alleviate people’s vaccination fears. However, this is not always easy for many of the uninsured or underinsured.
“We talk a lot,” says Beth Ann Wilmore, director of nursing at Mercy Community Healthcare, which runs clinics south of Nashville, Tennessee, and serves diverse populations of low-income patients. “I taught myself and the team and our suppliers and nurses about what the vaccine is, and why we give it, and what it does,” added Wilmore, who said she was initially nervous about taking a brand new one. vaccine. But she is now using the experience to calm patients, which recently included a scared person young woman who came in for the vaccine she needed to work safely in her education.
At the Scenic Rivers in rural Minnesota, it’s all proactive. Holmes, the longtime CEO, said all patients are eligible to make appointments, which strengthens efforts to build trust – and avoid the pitfalls of a colorful internet on the state’s iron ore.
Melody Weaver, president of the Idaho Rural Health Association and a family nurse, also had to calmly correct misinformation about suspected dangers of the vaccines.
“We see every year – every year, vaccinations with flu vaccine,” she said. “And with the virus – because of the scale of this pandemic, and the mixed messages and the politicization … you get trust issues.”
Despite this, more people turned up for the flu vaccine this year. According to her, this is a promising sign.
Darius Tahir reported