It is so disheartening that too many people in Tennessee – and in fact in most “red” states – still seem to be allowing themselves to be wagged by political dogma as they shrug off COVID vaccines and other simple protections.
What’s even more disheartening is a new study commissioned by the Tennessee Department of Health that concluded that those attitudes are unlikely to change, at least anytime soon. The survey was made to help state health officials find messaging that persuades vaccine-hesitant Volunteer State residents to “volunteer” to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Bottom line? “Those that are unwilling will largely remain so,” according to the study authors’ summary. Only a quarter of those surveyed believe that herd immunity could be reached if enough people get vaccinated.
In other words, they just don’t believe the science. They don’t believe the scientists and medical experts whose jobs are to calculate how many vaccines will get us out of this. And if they don’t believe them or their work, then their attitude seems to be why bother.
The Tennessee study found that the most common objection to the vaccine was the perception that development was rushed and they might be comfortable getting a shot in “5-10 years maybe.” According to the survey, many respondents said, “But I still wouldn’t get it because COVID most likely wouldn’t harm me any more than the flu anyway.”