The 6 reasons Americans aren’t getting vaccinated
America’s vaccine campaign has collapsed from its previous highs. While at one point in mid-April more than 3 million people received the shot each day, now only around 1.2 million are — a rate that’s less than half of what it was at the peak. So the US might not make President Joe Biden’s goal to vaccinate 70 percent of adults by July Fourth: At the current rates, roughly 175 million adults will get at least their first shots by Independence Day, falling short of the nearly 180 million needed.
If the vaccination campaign continues to stall out, it leaves the US vulnerable to a range of risks, from summer outbreaks in the South to continued resurgences of the coronavirus this fall to the possibility of new and dangerous variants. While the vaccinated are protected, the virus is still spreading among the unvaccinated as quickly as it was during the massive outbreaks of the recent fall and winter.
Reason 1: Lack of access, real or perceived
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s surveys, about 4 percent of Americans intend to get the vaccine as soon as possible but haven’t yet and another 12 percent are in wait-and-see mode. Particularly among these segments of the population, access is still likely a major barrier.
Reason 2: Covid-19 isn’t seen as a threat
Even after the past year, some Americans still don’t see the coronavirus as a serious threat. Maybe they’re young, seeing that the virus isn’t as deadly for them as it is for older groups. They could be Republicans, who bought into former President Donald Trump’s claims that the coronavirus wasn’t a big deal and that Democrats, experts, and journalists have exaggerated its risk. Polls show both groups tend to be less likely to want to get vaccinated.
www.cdc.gov
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Reason 3: Vaccine side effects
For some, the concern is the vaccine itself — and particularly the side effects that can come with it. These concerns can be about something the vaccine really causes, like a day or two of aches, fever, and fatigue or, in extremely rare cases, potentially blood clots. But they can also be about things that aren’t real or proven, like other long-term health risks or unproven claims about, for example, infertility.
Reason 4: Lack of trust in the vaccines
Beyond concerns about side effects, many of the hesitant just don’t have much trust in the vaccines. They may believe that the process for the vaccines was too fast — it was, after all, a record time from conception to mass production. They may note the vaccines aren’t even technically approved by the Food and Drug Administration since the agency has only authorized them for emergency use.
Reason 5: Lack of trust in institutions
For some of the hesitant, the concerns may not be about Covid-19 and the vaccines but the institutions that surround both. They may not trust the government agencies or companies that helped develop the vaccines. Or they may not trust the health care system in general.
These feelings could be newly developed. Over the past year, especially, polling has found much of the public, but especially Trump voters, lost trust in major government institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People in this category are less likely to listen to the agency and other government officials’ calls to get vaccinated.
www.cdc.gov
Dr. Fitness 904.236.5858 (text)
Photo: Rader, Jensen (uploader)
Photo: Dr. Fitness
Reason 6: A variety of conspiracy theories
At least half the people who say they won’t get vaccinated believe at least one conspiracy theory about the Covid-19 vaccines or vaccines in general, according to a YouGov poll from May.
The best hope for refuting such disinformation, based on political science research, is for public officials and the media to stop spreading it and, when it does pop up, correct it. But the spread of disinformation is a much thornier problem that society at large is still coming to terms with as the internet and social media have made it so easy for people to proliferate lies and myths — and it will take a while to really get a handle on this.
A common theme
All of the reasons people provide for not getting vaccinated, from lack of access to conspiracy theories, share a common theme: A significant portion of Americans don’t believe the vaccines are worth the potential downsides.
Everything officials and experts are now doing to vaccinate more Americans is in effect meant to beat back this theme. Better access would mitigate a major downside. Incentives could push the vaccine over the top, making it worth the downsides. Mandates could too.
If all of this is successful, the country could truly defeat Covid-19. But if enough people believe the downsides are still too bad, the threat of the virus could lurk for years to come.
*Courtesy of vox.com
Contraindications and Precautions relating to COVID-19 Vaccinations
Probably the most legitimate reason many people are against taking the vaccine is a condition causing an allergic reaction or anaphylactic shock caused by antibiotics which are part of the ingredients of vaccinations to kill off harmful bacteria in the processing stage.
For the small percentage of people affected by this condition, further clarification can be understood in these articles:
https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/bacitracin-and-boo-boos-becoming-a-no-no
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/contraindications.html
www.cdc.gov
Dr. Fitness 904.236.5858 (text)