Real Progress Is Possible On Vaccine Hesitancy
Drew Altman’s Axios column draws on data from the new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor to assess where the country stands on vaccine hesitancy.
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Drew Altman’s Axios column draws on data from the new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor to assess where the country stands on vaccine hesitancy.
A new analysis of KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey data finds that residents of rural America stand out as one of the groups most hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine and that their views about the pandemic could pose significant challenges for the nation’s mass vaccination effort. About a third (35%) of people living in rural areas say they probably or definitely would not get a COVID-19 vaccine that had been deemed safe and effective…
In his latest Axios column, Drew Altman looks at the challenge of vaccine hesitancy in rural America and its implications. One of them: a highly tailored outreach campaign is needed. “Addressing this hesitancy will require convincing rural Americans about the seriousness of the pandemic, and then that the vaccine is a way to protect them, their families and their way of life,” he said.
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In a new “Beyond the Data” column, KFF’s President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman analyzes years of KFF polling on vaccines in light of the current controversies about them. The real problem, he says, is not lack of public confidence in the safety of vaccines — few say they are unsafe — it’s that polarization and misinformation have eroded confidence in what’s true or not, and in scientific institutions people used to rely on for…
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