Reluctance easing, yet many still hesitant

So few people came for COVID-19 vaccinations in one county in North Carolina that hospitals there now allow anyone 16 or older to get a shot, regardless of where they live. Get a shot, get a free doughnut, the governor said.

Alabama, which has the nation’s lowest vaccination rate and a county where only 7% of residents are fully vaccinated, launched a campaign to convince people the shots are safe. Doctors and pastors joined the effort.

On the national level, the Biden administration this week launched a “We Can Do This” campaign to encourage holdouts to get vaccinated against the virus that has claimed over 550,000 lives in the U.S.

The race is on to vaccinate as many people as possible, but a significant number of Americans are so far reluctant to get the shots, even in places where they are plentiful.

Twenty-five percent of Americans say they probably or definitely will not get vaccinated, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

They are leery about possible side effects. They tend to be Republican, and they are usually younger and less susceptible to becoming critically ill or dying if they catch COVID-19.

There’s been a slight shift, though, since the first weeks of the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign, which began in mid-December. An AP-NORC poll conducted in late January showed that 67% of adult Americans were willing to get vaccinated or had already received at least one shot. Now that figure has climbed to 75%.

That, experts say, moves the nation closer to herd immunity, which occurs when enough people have immunity, either from vaccination or past infection, to stop uncontrolled spread of a disease.

Anywhere from 75% to 85% of the total population — including children, who are not currently getting the shots — should be vaccinated to reach herd immunity, said Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

A little over three months after the first doses were given, 100 million Americans, or about 30% of the population, have received at least one dose.

Andrea Richmond, a 26-yearold freelance web coder in Atlanta, is among those whose reluctance is easing. A few weeks ago, Richmond was leaning toward not getting the shot. Possible long-term effects worried her.

Then her sister got vaccinated with no ill effects. Richmond’s friends’ opinions also changed.

“They went from, ‘I’m not trusting this’ to ‘I’m all vaxxed up, let’s go out!’”

Her mother, a cancer survivor, whom Richmond lives with, is so keen for her daughter to get vaccinated that she signed her up online for a jab.

“I’ll probably end up taking it,” Richmond said.

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 will probably or definitely not get vaccinated, 36% compared with 12%. But somewhat fewer Republicans today are reluctant.

Back in January, 44% said they would shy away from a vaccine.

JAKE MAY — THE FLINT JOURNAL VIA AP, FILE UM-Flint nursing student Michaela Dimello helps administer the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19vaccine March 29to Genesee County residents at Bishop Airport in Flint, Mich. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that the percentage of Americans resisting getting inoculated has shrunk in the past few months. But it’s still not enough to pull America out of the pandemic, and reach herd immunity.