(CNN) – It is no longer about supply, but about demand. This is when the government stops its efforts to prioritize vaccines and starts trying to convince the skeptics and those who don’t want to get vaccinated.
“Simply put, if you’ve waited your turn, you don’t have to keep doing it,” President Joe Biden told the Americans on Wednesday. “Now is the time for everyone over the age of 16 to get vaccinated.”
The US continues to make progress with vaccines. Biden proudly announced on Wednesday that the country has administered 200 million doses of vaccines to Americans in its records. More than a quarter of the country has been fully vaccinated and 40% has received a dose. More than half of the population over the age of 18 has been vaccinated.
Then Biden took a big turn and tried to convince people who don’t want it yet about the vaccine with a speech on several counts:
- He told younger Americans to do their part to get vaccinated and protect their own health.
- He called it a “patriotic duty,” perhaps directed against conservatives.
- He reminded Americans that vaccines are free.
- He asked all employers to give their employees time to get vaccinated, and promised a tax break to make the idea more appealing.
“Get vaccinated before the end of May,” he pleaded. “We can do it”.
Biden has shown that he is able to set achievable goals and take credit for achieving them. Either to make small-scale policies or to have a really good strategy, depending on how you see it.
This is how he could assume that the first 200 million vaccines in his administration were reached days ahead of schedule. Now the full total is higher if you count the millions vaccinated in the last days of the Trump administration.
On the other hand, it is expected the next 200 million vaccines are much more difficult than the first. This is despite the fact that all Americans over the age of 16 should now be eligible for vaccination.
The Kaiser Family Foundation collected the number of people vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with its studies of how many Americans are willing to get vaccinated.
These are the accounts:
- Vaccinated people: According to the latest CDC data, more than 40% of Americans have been vaccinated.
- People who want to get vaccinated: about 61% of Americans in the Kaiser survey, although that number has increased as people become more comfortable with the vaccine.
- People needed to achieve group immunity: according to most experts between 70% and 85% of the population.
- Vaccinations administered per day: ~ 3 million or more at the current rate.
Conclusion
The universe of people who want to get vaccinated and have not yet done so is getting smaller. And in the coming weeks, people are expected to go from asking for vaccinations to the government to find a way to reach the roughly 39% who are skeptical or unwilling to roll up their sleeves.
Some are young people who believe they are invincible. Some are conservative and skeptical of the government. Some are people of color who are skeptical for various reasons. However, the printing part is only just getting started.
Who are the least vaccinated?
CNN’s Harry Enten wrote that we tend to focus on racial and partisan divisions. But he looks at the polls and says he’s missing an important point:
A little-discussed difference in vaccine acceptance that is of particular concern is that younger Americans are less likely than older Americans to say they have been or will be vaccinated. This is dangerous because the youngest Americans are the most likely to spread the virus.
Only 49% of those under 30 who took part in the Kaiser Family Foundation poll last month told the polling station they would be vaccinated as soon as possible or have already done so. This figure is lower than 61% in general and well below 81% for the elderly.
Young indecisiveness could reduce the herd’s immunity and explain why, despite the growing number of vaccines, the rate of COVID-19 infections remains high.
Grandfathers and grandmothers
They understand again: The fact that the youngest have been the slowest to accept the vaccine is worrying because they are also the least likely to distance themselves physically. According to an average of March’s Axios / Ipsos surveys, adults under the age of 30, on average, said 7 points less often than practicing distance physical exercise than adults generally.
Biden spoke directly to the youth when he said that the vaccine could not only save their lives, but also help stop the spread in the community and “save the lives of their grandmothers.”
The following objective: Independence Day. Most of the time, Biden doesn’t set unattainable goals for himself, so presumably his goal of bringing America closer to normal life on July 4 isn’t entirely far-fetched.
As early as March, a CNN analysis of vaccine data suggested the United States could achieve herd immunity in June if vaccines kept pace. The test now will be to keep vaccination coverage up after the population is already saturated with vaccines.