Nothing will change Ron Holloway’s opinion regarding the Covid-19 vaccine: he will not receive it.
“I just feel like God created us, made our bodies so wonderful that we can practically do our own immunizations,” said Holloway, 75, to The Guardian. “We are equipped to do this in most cases. I just don’t see the need for that. “
Holloway is among the potentially millions of men who identify themselves as Republicans and say they do not plan to receive the coronavirus vaccine. According to a recent survey by NPR / PBS NewsHour / Marist, 49% of Republican men told researchers that they would not receive the injection; the research is among the recent analyzes that claim that hesitation to the vaccine is greater among this demographic group.
These data raised the alarm for disease experts, who have been struggling to combat Covid-19 amid strong politicization of public health policies, such as the Republicans’ frequent opposition to mask commercial mandates and regulations and the frequent dissemination of conspiracy theories. .
“Since such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to be vaccinated just because of political considerations … it makes absolutely no sense,” said US infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci recently. “What is the problem here? This is a vaccine that will save the lives of millions of people.”
Although some powerful Republicans have urged people to get the vaccine, a mixed message still persists among some conservatives. Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson recently criticized the Biden government’s vaccine outreach efforts, saying: “If you want them to get the vaccine, don’t scold them, don’t give them more commands, calm their fears by rationally explaining the benefits and vaccine risks. “
The Beaumont Foundation, an organization that aims to improve public health, led a focus group on March 13 to understand opposition to the vaccine among Republicans. The group consisted of 19 members, men and women, identified as Republicans. The selected participants “answered ‘maybe’ or ‘probably not’ when asked if they will receive the Covid vaccine”.
Group leader Frank Luntz, a veteran Republican researcher, asked participants: “When I say vaccination against Covid-19, vaccine … what do you think first?” One man replied, “A miracle, although I suspect it.” One man said “in a hurry”, while another said “experimental”. One man said, “Don’t hold my freedom hostage.”
Alec Tyson, associate director of research at the Pew Research Center, said there was a “similar dynamic” between the party gap about beliefs about Covid-19’s threat to public health and attitudes towards vaccinations. “Republicans are much less concerned than Democrats” about Covid-19’s public health risk, Tyson said. “The intention of vaccination is one of the main correlates to this attitude.”
While researching the vaccine’s intent, Tyson said the Pew researchers asked why those who were not currently planning to get the vaccine.
Among those who did not plan to get the vaccine, Tyson said that Republicans in this group “are more likely to tell us that they think they do not need it than Democrats who do not plan to get it”.
Panayiota Kendeou, professor of educational psychology and Guy Bond chair in reading at the University of Minnesota, said that while some vaccination hesitation was “predictable”, some were “also unique to the type of political climate, the way the pandemic was treated in the United States. USA and around the world, and the policy that has slightly blurred the waters in terms of decision-making and the consequences of our decisions ”.
Kendeou explained that the vaccine’s hesitation has traditionally been fueled by a number of known factors and said that “the main thing is our perceived risk of infection”. The perceived side effects are also important when people evaluate whether to get the vaccines.
“In the content of the Covid-19 vaccine, those who perceived health risks in terms of actually contracting the disease, and also fearing the side effects of the vaccine, have gained political guidance,” said Kendeou. “So we saw, for example, in the United States, certain groups were more or less afraid of the Covid-19 virus and cast doubt on the seriousness of the pandemic. Of course, this translated into the type of vaccine hesitation breakdown that we see being reported. “
Loren Anthony Williams – a self-styled “moderate conservative” who says “I am by no means a fervent and obstinate Trumper” – replied “probably not” when asked if he would get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Williams, who works in the medical marijuana industry, said he is not an “antivaxxer or something”, but remains skeptical, saying the injection “was rushed with a good deal of politics involved, because Trump was trying to get it out there in November before the election ”.
Asked later about politicization, Williams explained: “I think it was very politicized by Trump. Naming it Operation Warp Speed, doing everything possible to publicize it before the election. ”Although Trump” had the welfare of the country in mind, “said Williams, he also had political goals. Williams said his personal political beliefs did not influence his skepticism about the vaccine.
The 35-year-old Detroit resident also said, “I don’t need this, because I’m a very healthy young man and if I got the coronavirus, I would be fine without the vaccine. I would get over it myself.
“I do not discourage them from taking the vaccine for people who are older or at risk. That is their choice. It would probably benefit them much more because they are at greater risk, ”continued Williams, saying that his elderly parents had already received the vaccine.
Asked if anything might influence his opinion, Williams said “maybe”.
“Since I’m not a chemist or biologist, maybe if I knew how it was done and I was in it, I would change my mind.”
However, some Republicans are skeptical of statistics about vaccine hesitation among party men. Andrew Bilardello, who heads a Republican club in The Villages, an extensive retirement community in Florida, told The Guardian, “Most people here are registered Republicans, and most people here are getting the vaccine.”
Bilardello, a retired police chief, pointed out that Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis visited the area last week and praised Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine, and that he recently announced the reduction of the eligible vaccination age. Bilardello, 63, said he will receive the Johnson & Johnson jab.
“I go through the vaccination posts and I have to tell you: every day I go, there is a line to get the vaccine,” said Bilardello. Everyone cares, everyone wears masks … For most people here in the Villages, they are taking the pandemic here very seriously. “
Joe Martin, a Republican from Georgia, said he saw no hesitation in vaccines among his colleagues. He said people who didn’t understand were having access problems, but they didn’t hesitate.
“All the people I know, we’re all going out to dinner because we got the chance,” said Martin, 77. “Once you get the chance, you’re free to socialize and do all kinds of things. Why wouldn’t you want to? “
Despite reported levels of high hesitation or resistance to the vaccine, there is evidence that minds can change.
Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provided five facts about Covid-19 to participants in the Beaumont virtual focus group. Among the facts: more than 90% of the doctors who received the vaccine decided to take it. When the focus group ended, 16 said they were more willing to get the vaccine, the organization said.