An illustration of the caller coronavirus. (Illustration: CDC)
The percent of Americans who accidental they would “definitely not” get the COVID-19 vaccine has remained comparatively unchangeable since 2020. And the regular fig of radical getting vaccinations had slid adjacent a debased constituent erstwhile President Joe Biden announced sweeping vaccine mandates.
Yet, erstwhile President Donald Trump and his lad Eric person been dishing retired revisionist past with claims that vaccine hesitancy soared erstwhile Biden assumed bureau and that “people were getting the vaccine successful grounds numbers” until Biden implemented vaccine mandates.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity connected Oct. 18, Eric Trump claimed that Biden has “actually frightened America astir the vaccine” owed to mandates.
Eric Trump, Oct. 18: I mean, my begetter was producing the vaccine. By the way, radical were taking it successful grounds numbers. And 1 of the things I deliberation Biden has conscionable done conscionable unspeakable astatine by shoving things down American’s throats. He’s really frightened America astir the vaccine, which hadn’t happened nether my father. People were getting the vaccine successful grounds numbers, but you spot these mandates and you spot them conscionable jamming it connected Americans. And you know, don’t propulsion thing connected Americans, amended them, but don’t unit things connected Americans. Americans are not that society. They privation to unrecorded a escaped life. It’s ne'er worked, Sean. It’s conscionable ne'er worked.
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker shows, the highest fig of doses being administered regular occurred successful April.
The fig of doses administered regular roseate steadily successful the months aft the archetypal vaccines were delivered on Dec. 14. Although immoderate states opened up wide eligibility earlier than others, Biden connected April 6 directed all states to marque the vaccine disposable to each adults by April 19. The seven-day average for regular doses administered peaked astatine astir 3.5 cardinal connected April 11. The highest one-day total, 4.5 cardinal doses, occurred connected April 1. Those are the records.
After those grounds highs, the fig of regular vaccinations steadily declined into July, erstwhile it leveled off. The seven-day mean successful mid-July fell beneath 500,000 a day, earlier rising again to implicit 850,000 a time successful precocious August. By aboriginal September, about 63% of Americans had received astatine slightest 1 dose of vaccine, and astir 54% were afloat vaccinated.
But radical were not “taking it successful grounds numbers” erstwhile Biden announced on Sept. 9 sweeping efforts to mandate vaccination for federal workers, ample employers and wellness attraction staff. In aboriginal September, the numbers were trending down adjacent arsenic the highly transmissible delta variant drove COVID-19 cases higher — mostly among the unvaccinated. The seven-day mean for regular doses was astatine conscionable implicit 650,000 the time Biden announced those mandates — obscurity adjacent the grounds levels successful April.
“Many of america are frustrated with the astir 80 cardinal Americans who are inactive not vaccinated, adjacent though the vaccine is safe, effective, and free,” Biden said. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has outgo each of us.”
Biden directed the Department of Labor to make an exigency regularisation to necessitate each employers with 100 oregon much employees to guarantee their workers are vaccinated oregon tested astatine slightest erstwhile a week. He besides issued an executive order requiring each national employees to beryllium vaccinated, with nary objection for those who would similar to opt retired by being regularly tested.
And aft antecedently requiring vaccination for each nursing location workers who dainty patients enrolled successful Medicare oregon Medicaid, Biden expanded that request to everyone who works successful hospitals, location wellness attraction facilities and different aesculapian facilities.
But arsenic we said, regular vaccination numbers had slowed agelong earlier Biden announced those mandates.
The erstwhile president, meanwhile, claimed during an Oct. 7 interrogation connected Fox News that erstwhile helium was president “everybody wanted the vaccine. There was cipher saying, ‘Oh, gee, I don’t privation to instrumentality it.’ Now they accidental that. And that’s due to the fact that they don’t spot the Biden administration. I tin deliberation of nary different reason.” In fact, surveys amusement remarkably small saltation pre- and post-Biden taking bureau successful the percent of radical who said they decidedly would not get the vaccine.
Public sentiment polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation successful December 2020, much than a period earlier Trump near office, found: “About a 4th (27%) of the nationalist remains vaccine hesitant, saying they astir apt oregon decidedly would not get a COVID-19 vaccine adjacent if it were disposable for escaped and deemed harmless by scientists. Vaccine hesitancy is highest among Republicans (42%).”
That month, astir 15% of the full population responded that they would “definitely not” get the vaccine — including 25% of Republicans. Those percentages remained reasonably changeless successful monthly polling done September.
“We haven’t seen immoderate motion that vaccine hesitancy has accrued implicit time,” Liz Hamel, vice president and manager of nationalist sentiment and survey probe for the Kaiser Family Foundation, told america successful a telephone interview. “It’s beauteous remarkable. You seldom spot thing that stays that unchangeable implicit time.”
Hamel cautioned that comparing December 2020 to September 2021 is not an “apples-to-apples” concern due to the fact that a vaccine was not disposable erstwhile the December survey was done, and authorized and approved vaccines were wide disposable during the much caller surveys.
What has shrunk considerably implicit clip is the percent of radical who said they wanted to “wait and see” earlier taking the vaccine. In December, that percent was 39%, and it dropped to 7% successful September.
Between December and September, astir a 4th to a 5th of Republicans person consistently expressed absorption to getting the vaccine. And, Hamel said, those Republicans were unmoved by currency bonuses and different incentives to promote vaccination.
KFF’s results are akin to the findings of surveys conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, FactCheck.org’s genitor organization. In May 2020, during Trump’s presidency, 18% said they would beryllium “not astatine each likely” to get a vaccine that protects radical from the coronavirus if it became available. A akin percent (18%) reported the aforesaid reluctance successful APPC’s April 2021 survey, erstwhile Biden was president and the vaccine was being wide distributed.
In APPC’s astir caller tracking survey, conducted successful September, 12% said they would beryllium “not astatine each likely” to get a COVID-19 vaccine — truthful if thing the contingent of vaccine-resistant radical dwindled a bit.
Trump should cognize however entrenched this vaccine-hesitant constituency is. The erstwhile president was booed at a rally in Alabama connected Aug. 21 aft helium recommended his supporters get the vaccine.
“I judge wholly successful your freedoms, I do,” Trump said. “But you got to bash what you person to do, but I recommend, instrumentality the vaccines. I did it. It’s good. Take the vaccines, but you got … [some successful the assemblage boo]. No, that’s okay. That’s each right. You got your freedoms. But I happened to instrumentality the vaccine.”
But arsenic we said, polling shows that aforesaid vaccine hesitancy, peculiarly among Republicans, existed some earlier and aft Biden took office.
Editor’s note: SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project is made imaginable by a assistance from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The instauration has no control over FactCheck.org’s editorial decisions, and the views expressed successful our articles bash not needfully bespeak the views of the foundation. The extremity of the task is to summation vulnerability to close accusation astir COVID-19 and vaccines, portion decreasing the interaction of misinformation.
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