So few people have come for COVID-19 vaccinations in a North Carolina county that hospitals there now allow anyone 16 years of age or older to get shot, no matter where they live. Get a shot, get a free donut, the governor said.
Alabama, which has the lowest vaccination rate in the country and a county where only 7% of residents are fully vaccinated, has launched a campaign to convince people that the shots are safe. Doctors and pastors joined the effort.
Nationwide, the Biden administration launched a “We Can Do It” campaign this week to encourage people left on vacation against the virus that has claimed more than 550,000 lives in the United States.
The race is about to vaccinate as many people as possible, but a significant number of Americans are so far reluctant to fire, even in places where they are plentiful. Twenty-five percent of Americans say they will probably not be vaccinated, according to a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
They are worried about possible side effects. They tend to be Republicans and are usually younger and less susceptible to critical illness or death if they catch COVID-19.
However, there has been a slight change since the first weeks of the nation’s largest vaccination campaign, which began in mid-December. An AP-NORC survey conducted in late January showed that 67% of adult Americans were willing to be vaccinated or had already received at least one stroke. Now that figure has risen to 75%.
This, experts say, brings the nation closer to the herd’s immunity, which occurs when enough people have immunity, either from vaccination or from previous infections, to stop the uncontrolled spread of a disease.
Anywhere from 75% to 85% of the total population – including children who do not currently receive vaccines – should be vaccinated to get herd immunity, said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics at the School of Health. University of Washington Public Health
Just over three months after the first doses, 100 million Americans, or about 30% of the population, received at least one dose.
Andrea Richmond, a 26-year-old independent web programmer from Atlanta, is one of those who is reluctant to relax. A few weeks ago, Richmond leaned over not to get shot. Possible long-term effects worried her. He knew that an H1N1 vaccine used years ago in Europe increased the risk of narcolepsy.
Then her sister was vaccinated without any side effects. Richmond’s friends’ opinions have also changed.
“They’ve gone from ‘I don’t trust this’ to’ We’re all angry, let’s go out! ””
Her mother, a cancer survivor with whom she lives in Richmond, is so eager for her daughter to get vaccinated that she signed up online for a jab.
“I’ll probably get it,” Richmond said. “I think it’s my civic duty.”
But some remain strongly opposed.
“I think I had the flu once,” said 67-year-old Lori Mansour, who lives near Rockford, Illinois. “So I think I’ll take a risk.”
In the latest poll, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they would probably or certainly not get vaccinated, 36% versus 12%. But fewer Republicans today are reluctant. In January, 44% said they avoided a vaccine.
The hesitation can be seen in Winston County, Alabama, which is 96% white and where more than 90% of voters supported then-President Donald Trump last year. Only 6.9% of the county’s approximately 24,000 residents are fully vaccinated, the lowest level in Alabama.
Elsewhere in Alabama, health officials have tried to address issues that include reluctance in heavily black areas, where distrust of government medical initiatives is deep. They targeted several counties with a pro-vaccine message, especially in the old plantation region, where a large percentage of the population is black and many are poor.
The campaign recruited doctors and pastors and used virtual meetings and radio to spread the word.
Dr. Karen Landers, a state assistant health officer, said the effort was positive. For example, in Perry County, where 68% of the population of about 9,300 is black, more than 16% of the population is completely vaccinated, among the highest levels. Officials will make similar efforts for other parts of the state, she said.
Nationally, 24% of black Americans and 22% of Hispanic Americans say they will probably or certainly not get vaccinated, down from 41% and 34% in January, respectively. Of white Americans, 26% now say they will not get vaccinated. In January, this number was 31%.
The Biden administration’s campaign includes TV commercials and social media. Celebrities and community and religious personalities join the effort.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, is trying to win over a third of Iowa adults who will not commit to getting a vaccine by stressing that the shots will help bring life back to normal.
In North Carolina’s Cumberland County, less than 1 in 6 residents got at least one shot.
Amid concerns that there would be an unused surplus of vaccines, Cape Fear Valley Health Hospital’s systems opened photos for all 16 or older last week.
“Rather than using unused doses, we want to give more people a chance to get vaccinated,” said Chris Tart, vice president of Cape Fear Valley Health. “We hope this will encourage more people to roll over.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, posted a video on Twitter with a free donut from the Krispy Kreme chain. Customers who show their vaccine card can receive a donut free of charge every day for the rest of the year.
“Do it today, boys!” Cooper encouraged the spectators. Nearly 36% of adults in North Carolina have been at least partially vaccinated, state data show.
Younger people are more likely to give up a shot. Of those under the age of 45, 31% say they will probably give up a shot. Only 12% of those aged 60 and over say they will not be vaccinated.
Ronni Peck, a 40-year-old mother from Los Angeles, is one of those who intends to avoid vaccination, at least for now. She is concerned that vaccines have not been studied for long-term health effects. He feels that some friends disapprove of his position.
“But I stopped caring if I felt ostracized or not, and instead I learned to spend more time doing what I need to do for myself and my children,” Peck said.
Deborah Fuller, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said that if the herd’s immunity level cannot be reached soon, a more realistic target could be to vaccinate at least 50 percent of the population by this summer, at a rate higher vaccination among the most vulnerable to reduce severe diseases, hospitalizations and deaths.
“In this scenario, the virus would persist in the population, but it ceases to be a major health threat that overloads our health care systems,” Fuller said.
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Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon. Fingerhut reported from Washington. Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Bryan Anderson of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jay Reeves of Birmingham, Alabama, also contributed to the story.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,166 adults was conducted March 26-29 using a sample taken from the AmeriSpeak probability-based NORC panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The sampling error margin for all respondents is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.