The COVID-19 Delta variant firmly established itself in rural Missouri and is now infecting thousands throughout the state, including St. Louis city and county. As of late July, nearly 30% of COVID-positive swabs were linked to the Delta variant, according to local health officials.
Most vaccine-hesitant counties nationwide are typically rural, with low-income levels and college graduation rates, according to a New York Times survey in July. Additionally, they are Republican-leaning and, on average, people who voted to re-elect former President Donald J. Trump.
Another recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), found that Republicans are the most resistant to vaccinations. On average, nearly 3 in 10 say they don’t want it, with 35% of Republican men saying they definitely will not get vaccinated.
Republicans aren’t the only vaccine hesitant group in the US. African Americans and Latinos are also reluctant. But, according to the KFF survey, vaccination rates in those two groups have risen more sharply than among Republicans.
Health officials spent a lot of time and money trying to understand the rationale behind vaccine hesitancy among Blacks and Hispanics. Understanding those fears, without overt criticism or condemnation, obviously paid off with higher vaccination rates. Therefore, if it’s paramount to increase vaccination rates among Republicans, it seems necessary to study the source of their resistance.
“Actually, I think there’s a lot of overlap among some Republican hesitancy and African American hesitancy,” said State Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin).
Dogan listed several reasons why fellow Republicans are resistant to rolling up their sleeves that are similar to justifications vocalized by Black people. Some reasons include religious convictions, mistrust of government and science, mixed messaging from health officials and what many consider bias against their beliefs.
“People should trust their doctors more than their friends with doctorates from Facebook or Twitter.” – State Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin)
Dogan, who has been vaccinated, said he’s doing everything in his power “both privately and publicly,” to convince fellow republicans to get vaccinated. He defined some GOP members as part of the “unreachable bucket,” such as those who have religious justifications for their stubborn stances:
“If they have a legitimate religious conviction, I’m not going to try to argue someone out of their faith,” Dogan said.
However, he has little patience for the GOP segment influenced by social media misconceptions such as the virus being a hoax created by the government to implant chips in people, magnetize them, make them infertile or alter their DNA.
“First and foremost; more than 90% of doctors, medical professionals and frontline workers are vaccinated,” Dogan stressed. “People should trust their doctors more than their friends with doctorates from Facebook or Twitter.”
Dogan said he focuses his attention on the “convincible crowd” who are open to facts over fiction:
“Those who’s objections are more practical; those concerned about the safety of the vaccine or have legitimate concerns about some of the side effects that’s been reported …I think those people are very, very persuadable and can be reached.”
Inconsistent messaging from health officials is an additional impediment for some conservatives, including those who’ve been vaccinated, Dogan said:
“Since May, the CDC said you don’t have to wear masks; If you’re vaccinated; you’re protected. So, we have been operating under the understanding that our risks of catching or spreading COVID are far less. But it (CDC) responded to political pressure and changed its guidelines. When doctors change their advice and it’s not necessarily based on science but based on politics, people lose trust.”
President Joe Biden and health officials insist mask mandates have been altered based on science and the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. But that justification does little to sway the perceptions of conservatives who sincerely believe that maintaining a robust economy outweighs public health concerns. If so-called “experts” can be wishy-washy about health mandates, Dogan said, so can the American people.
His comment pertains to the tolerance or intolerance (depending on political leanings) of large-scale gatherings. For example, last year, after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, some medical experts did indeed defend the rights of large groups of people gathering to protest injustice. Last year, Politico.com took health officials to task for placing “social justice” above “social distancing.”
“Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message,” Politico wrote, “It’s time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism.”
Dogan said the indifference and contradictions applied to the recent Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago’s Grant Park where an estimated 100,000 people gathered each day for the four-day event. The criticism wasn’t as robust, he insists, as it was for the early August Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew estimated crowds of 700,000.
If Chicago is all liberal and South Dakota is all conservative and there was no intermingling of the groups, then Dogan may have a legitimate point. However, perceptions matter and if conservatives (or liberals) believe a certain something, then “facts” or fact-based rebuttals have little sway in their opinions.
Still, Dogan maintains that “facts” are key in trying to convince his vaccine-hesitant political compadres to change their minds:
“Developing the vaccine in record time, was a great American story; a testament to our ingenuity to fight a virus that originated in China. There were some hiccups in its delivery at first but now it’s almost 100% accessible to any adult who wants it.
“The COVID vaccine is way more effective than the vaccine for the common flu. We have the tools that allow us to have a great, great chance of not going to the hospital or dying from COVID. So why not use them?”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.
