Hearts and minds

Not to mention other vitals

AS THE resurgence of covid-19 and its Delta variant enters month three, America doesn’t seem to have caught on to a surefire strategy for a counterattack. Last year, it was all about getting to the vaccine. But not enough folks got the shot, so here we are.

Vaccination, like masks, has unfortunately become a politicized topic in this country. It happens to just about everything these days. It seems like the only subject still free of the deep political divide is dogs. Unless you’re talking about pit bulls, which puts us back into politics again.

But maybe there’s a slight shift in the winds, and any change in attitudes among anti-vaxxers is welcome. It comes from poll data Axios published this week:

“Vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. is showing signs of crumbling, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index,” Axios reports. “Fewer adults than ever now say they won’t take the shot, and in the past two weeks there has been a sharp increase in the share of parents who plan to get their younger kids vaccinated as soon as it’s allowed.”

What did the latest numbers show? Around one-third of unvaccinated poll respondents said FDA approval would make them likely to take the vaccine. But that number jumped to 43 percent when a mandate came from the man or woman signing the paycheck. Those two would seem to play into each other since having full FDA approval for the Pfizer shot provides good cover for bosses to issue mandates at work.

And since that full FDA approval was granted, more universities and employers have been issuing vaccine mandates. It’s easy to avoid getting a shot when philosophical differences and allegiance to online conspiracy theories don’t threaten your income. But once they do . . . well, a paycheck is a powerful motivator.

Here’s hoping more companies will issue vaccine mandates, despite cries from angry anti-vaxxers who feel their security circle growing smaller. That seems to be one of the main factors moving the needle here.

Unfortunately, the stats don’t break down into easy cookie-cutter shapes. Right now, children under 12 (who can’t get vaccinated) make up the largest chunk of unvaccinated folks at around 48 million.

The data shows 68 percent of parents responded that they either have already vaccinated their (eligible) kids or are likely to as soon as it’s permitted for their age bracket. And just two weeks ago, that number was 56 percent—a marked improvement.

What happened? School started in a lot of places. Kids went back to being crammed in hallways and classrooms, some without mask mandates, and infection rates soared. The group is more than large enough to present a significant concern. What’s worse? Delta hits kids harder, so the previous “wisdom” that kids were mostly fine when it came to covid-19 goes out the window.

A growing number of parents seems eager to get their children vaccinated, which is good, but right now those with kids under 12 don’t have any options. Pfizer is working to change that, and its director said vaccines for kids ages 5 to 11 could come soon:

“Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects U.S. drug regulators to clear the Pfizer Covid vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11 in late fall or early winter of this year,” CNBC reports. “The former FDA chief and current Pfizer board member told CNBC that such a timeline represents an ‘optimized scenario.’ The spread of the Delta variant may potentially pressure regulators to act more quickly, he suggested.”

The hangup for getting vaccines to younger age groups is regulators need more stringent data for proof of safety, and that’s the way it should be. As much as parents might be clamoring for a vaccine for the kids, there’s no rushing scientific bureaucracy. Cross your Ts, dot your Is, and put a slash through your Qs.

In the meantime, make sure your kids are going to school with masks. It’s about the only protection from Delta they’ve got now. And remember, even if they don’t get sick, they might bring home the virus to you or a loved one.

It’s nice to be optimistic, but when it comes to a pandemic, being realistic is a better option. It was a real struggle for Arkansas to get this many people partially vaccinated. And even now the Natural State doesn’t yet have half of its people fully vaccinated.

So before folks who did get the shot start lining up for booster shots, there’s still a sizable chunk of Arkansans who need to get shot numero uno. It’s the only way we’ll beat Delta and get back to where we were in June. Do you remember how happy everyone was in June? Infection and death rates were low. Doctors and nurses seemed to finally catch a break. We were all looking forward to fall and football and holidays.

Hopefully this latest poll represents at least a slice of unvaccinated folks in Arkansas who are giving the shot another look. Once you’re being intubated, it’s too late for the vaccine.