Pandemic of the Unvaccinated

Nationwide, more than 99 percent of recent Covid deaths have occurred among unvaccinated people, and more than 97 percent of recent hospitalizations have occurred among the unvaccinated, according to the CDC.

Return to normal is going to take a while.

Main reason you chose to get vaccinated?

“To stop being afraid of getting it, afraid of the huge medical bills, to go back to normal, to protect others.”

“Protect my family from this deadly virus.”

Why don’t people want to get vaccinated?

This is a question that the people who are vaccinated cannot understand.

Why wouldn’t someone want to protect themselves and their family members from the Covid virus if getting a couple shots was all it took?

♦ For many people, messages from politicians and the mass media have been discouraging vaccinations. Many Americans — especially those without a college degree — don’t trust mainstream institutions.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

The Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a poll and asked American adults why they were hesitant to get vaccinated.

Amazingly many people still don’t believe the Covid pandemic is real. While another group of people are more afraid of getting sick from the shot than from the virus.

Illiteracy

The spread of skepticism would have been less effective had people been equipped with a better understanding of health and science.

Illiteracy is part of the problem. Less than half of Americans are proficient readers.

Only 12% of Americans are considered to be "health-literate." Over one-third struggle with basic health tasks, such as following prescription drug directions.

It should be no surprise that states struggling with the most Covid cases also have the least healthy populations.

Exaggerated

Some people say they thought the pandemic was being exaggerated and no longer felt that a vaccine was necessary.

"Covid was not the pandemic it was made out to be and I am not getting vaccinated for it.” 26-year-old, female, white, Republican from Iowa.

“This event seems more and more just like the flu. Everyone is exposed and has the same chance of getting it. I never got a flu vaccine either. This whole mask thing is a joke…” 58-year-old, male, black, independent, from Alabama.

“I don’t believe contracting Covid is a death sentence. We blew this entire pandemic out of proportion.” 46-year-old, male, white, Republican from Massachusetts.

“My daughter has had Covid and I never tested positive or showed symptoms, and she never had symptoms. My thought is I am either immune or I have antibodies. My other thought is that we didn’t have it and they made the numbers grow by false positive tests.” 28-year-old, female, white, Republican from Tennessee.

Side effects

Many individuals voiced concerns about the side effects of the vaccine as the reason why they now do not plan on getting vaccinated.

“I really don’t want to be sick from a vaccination …” 54-year-old, male, white, Republican from California.

“There’s still not enough data proving that the vaccine is effectively and definitely not enough data showing the side effects.” 54-year-old, female, black, Democrat, from Arkansas.

“I am not sure about it yet. I don’t feel it was properly tested and there are so many different stories, good and bad, that I don’t know what to believe anymore.” 44-year-old, male, Hispanic, independent from California.

"I have allergies considering the possible risks. The risks in my opinion are not a chance I’m willing to take.” 18-year-old, male, Hispanic, Democrat, from Florida.

“We are now starting to see adverse reactions, deaths and other problems with young people also. We do not know the long-term effects on the body, reproduction etc. It could take years to see that information come out.” 60-year-old, male, white, Republican, from Delaware.

“The ‘product’ was rushed into production, it is probably flawed and we have not seen these flaws.” 57-year-old, male, white, Republican from Texas.

Many skeptics have changed their minds but not enough to stop the virus from spreading.

How can people be persuaded?

The Kaiser Family Foundation found that big motivating factors are:

1. Seeing that millions of other Americans have been safely vaccinated.

2. Hearing pro-vaccine messages from doctors.

3. Conversations with family members and friends has played a major role in persuading people to get vaccinated.

4. Restricting unvaccinated people from doing some things such as attending college or visiting their favorite restaurant.

5. No one wants to admit it but seeing more friends and neighbors hospitalized or dying may be the only thing to motivate some people.

The Kaiser Family Foundation also asked vaccinated adults how they felt.

Experiences of vaccinated adults

The most common responses were about feeling safe and relieved.

Other positive feelings reported were those of freedom, confidence, and more certainty that if they did get Covid-19, it would be less serious, or they were less likely to die from it.

Others offered responses about not experiencing any or only mild side effects as a result of the vaccinations, while some were excited about the “return to normal.”