Poles apart on vax by party ironic, risky
Given all the economic and social upheaval caused by this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s amazing — baffling — how many Americans remain wary about rolling up their sleeves for a shot at one of three effective U.S.-developed vaccines.
A recent Pew Research analysis of more than 10,000 Americans found that 69% intend to get a vaccine or already have; that’s up from the 60% in November who said they planned to get vaccinated.
We don’t know exactly why almost one-third of the survey’s respondents would rather risk catching this potentially deadly virus than be inoculated, but Gillian Steel Fisher, deputy director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program, offered her opinion in an online forum earlier this week.
Without addressing the Pew findings, she said distrust in pharmaceutical companies, the media and the government agencies that regulate safety constitute the main drivers of vaccine avoidance.
Politics also plays a role, since some people view vaccinations through a political rather than public health lens.
“We don’t want someone’s political affiliation to determine whether or not they get a vaccine that’s going to be lifesaving and protecting our communities,” Steel Fisher said.
That’s reinforced by the Pew Research analysis,
which found that 83% of Democrats plan to get or have already received a vaccine, compared to just 56% of Republicans, a gap that has widened since last year.
While Steel Fisher maintains the medical community should play a vital role in convincing vaccine skeptics to get a shot, we believe the former president should exert his still considerable influence in the GOP to reach his fence-sitting followers.
After all, it was Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration initiative behind the $10 billion private/ public U.S. partnership, that provided support to companies that led to the expeditious development, manufacturing and distribution of 300 million doses of COVID19 vaccine, which the Biden White House has built upon.
It also would eliminate the irony of Republicans’ rejection of the Trump presidency’s signature achievement.