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Investigators: State research shows white, rural conservative Tennesseans most likely to not trust COVID-19 vaccine
“I hear a lot of people say that they believe the numbers are lies,” said Dunaway. “They believe the numbers aren’t real. So, that’s a lot of people up here.”
Tipton County residents are not alone in their skepticism.
The governor’s office recently hired a Knoxville-based marketing agency to find out who’s not getting vaccinated and why, so the state can try to “overcome the barriers associated with those who are rejecting or hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The agency interviewed more than 1,000 Tennesseans in March and April and found “white, conservative rural Tennesseans are the least willing to accept the vaccine and seem to have planted their heels in the sand.”
Tipton County is rural, majority white and conservative. Most voters chose President Trump in the 2020 election.
Tipton County residents are not alone in their skepticism.
The governor’s office recently hired a Knoxville-based marketing agency to find out who’s not getting vaccinated and why, so the state can try to “overcome the barriers associated with those who are rejecting or hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The agency interviewed more than 1,000 Tennesseans in March and April and found “white, conservative rural Tennesseans are the least willing to accept the vaccine and seem to have planted their heels in the sand.”
Tipton County is rural, majority white and conservative. Most voters chose President Trump in the 2020 election.
“And it hasn’t helped with this election. So many of them did not trust the way the election went,” said Dunaway. “So now it’s like ‘you want us to trust the government some more?’”
Trust is a big factor in vaccine hesitancy, the research shows, with “white respondents for the most part claiming to trust no one!”
“There’s a fragility of trust issue that people are picking and choosing where they’re getting their information,” said Baker McCool, EMS program director for Dyersburg State Community College. “Plus, it’s a heavily politicized issue nationwide.”
On Saturdays, McCool leads mass vaccination events at the college’s Tipton County campus in Covington.
On April 17, McCool had 300 Moderna vaccine doses ready. Only 45 people showed up.
While polls nationwide show most people are willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, when it comes to political ideology, Republicans are still less willing to get vaccinated.
The trend isn’t new. A paper published by the National Institutes of Health said in 2018 that “trust in science and trust in government is usually lower for conservatives than liberals.”
Trust is a big factor in vaccine hesitancy, the research shows, with “white respondents for the most part claiming to trust no one!”
“There’s a fragility of trust issue that people are picking and choosing where they’re getting their information,” said Baker McCool, EMS program director for Dyersburg State Community College. “Plus, it’s a heavily politicized issue nationwide.”
On Saturdays, McCool leads mass vaccination events at the college’s Tipton County campus in Covington.
On April 17, McCool had 300 Moderna vaccine doses ready. Only 45 people showed up.
While polls nationwide show most people are willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, when it comes to political ideology, Republicans are still less willing to get vaccinated.
The trend isn’t new. A paper published by the National Institutes of Health said in 2018 that “trust in science and trust in government is usually lower for conservatives than liberals.”
What remains is a political party that has been made dumber. And guys like myself are left out in the cold listening to the "other side" more than they ever have in their lives.
I will not be a member of a political demographic whose worldview is based off conspiracies, fear, and ignorance.
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