Apparently, there is no herd immunity for nearly a third of the US population.
Research data provided by the Associated Press National Opinion Research Center (NORC) for Public Affairs indicate that 32 PERCENT of the overall population either “probably will not” (17 percent) or “definitely will not” (15 percent) receive a Covid-19 vaccination whenever it becomes available.
For Republicans, Independents, non-college graduates and the 30-44-age group, the responses were even more negative.
The numbers offered up by NORC must make one wonder what it would take to get through to a certain segment of the population.
Perhaps experience that only comes with age. It was comedian Richard Pryor, after all, who once said, “You don’t get old being (a) fool.”
Of those age 60 and over, 20 percent (the largest number of any group) have already had their shots while 50 percent (again, the biggest number of any segment polled) say they “definitely will” receive the vaccination and 11 percent said they “probably will.” Another 11 percent said they “probably will not,” and only 7 percent said they “definitely will not.”
Likewise, the numbers for college graduates were 17 percent already have, 50 percent “definitely will,” 15 percent “probably will,” 10 percent “probably will not,” and 7 percent “definitely will not.”
The numbers are similar for Democrats: 16, 48, 15, 11 and 7.
Conversely, for non-college-graduates, 12 percent have been vaccinated, 27 percent say they “definitely will,” and 21 percent say they “probably will.” Incredulously, 40 percent in this group say they either “probably will not” (21 percent) or “definitely will not” (19 percent).
Among Republicans, the numbers are 12, 24, 20, 21 and 23. That’s is nearly half (44 percent) who either said they “probably will not” or “definitely will not.”
Independents: 10, 26, 20, 26 and 16.
For ages 30-44, those questioned appeared to feel they had an aura of invincibility with 42 percent (21 percent each) said they either “probably will not” or “definitely will not” take the vaccination.
Some skeptics hold to the absurd belief that with the vaccinations, the government would be injecting a monitoring device by which the government would be able to track our movements.
Others cling to their assertions that the coronavirus was never more than a regular case of the flu. That, too, is ludicrous. In 2019, the year before coronavirus struck, 34,200 Americans died from influenza. Thus far, coronavirus has killed 450,000 Americans.
In two years (1918-19), before the invention of penicillin and with substantially fewer weapons to fight the spread, 675,000 Americans died of the Spanish Flu.
If Americans in 2021 cannot be convinced of the sanity of wearing masks and getting vaccinated, we are almost certain to surpass the 675,000 of 1918 and 1919.
In retrospect, all it would have taken was for Donald Trump to plead with his Republican and non-college-education devotees to wear the damn masks, to get off his Big Mac eating, twitter-sending, Fox-watching ass and have a decent and efficient system of vaccine distribution in place and ready to go when the vaccines became available.
But he just couldn’t do that. Instead, he placed JARED KUSHNER in charge of developing a vaccine – after he’d already botched an earlier assignment of overseeing the availability of personal protection equipment for front line workers and ventilators for patients. Meanwhile, Jared and daughter Ivanka were busy raking in $640 million while working in Daddy’s administration.
And let’s be perfectly clear: Jared Kushner did not develop a vaccine. In fact, he had nothing to do with developing a vaccine. He is no a scientist. Researches extensively trained in immunology, who have spent their entire careers in research, are the ones who developed the vaccines. Jared Kushner’s background is that of a slumlord.
If Trump had only not downplayed the coronavirus (“it’s like the flu,” “it’ll disappear by Easter,” “it’s a Democratic hoax”) and told his base to mask up and take the vaccinations when they became available, you’d see pro-Trump anti-vaxxers who slept through civics classes in high school signing up for their shots.
But that’s the reality in which we live today – a reality where, thanks to social media, up is down, black is white, wrong is right and those who can shout the loudest prevail.
Louisiana Voice 
My wife got her first shot this morning. I get my second this afternoon. We are both grateful. If the ignorant among our population choose to not be vaccinated, they are showing the same selfishness demonstrated by non-maskers. It would be okay if they could all move to a place where we didn’t have to go and where they could blissfully reinforce each other’s misconceptions and live under the rules of the old west. Unfortunately, there is no such place.
…as I’ve had to tell several people lately, we didn’t make it an entire year without getting infected with this virus by being stupid. You are welcome to engage in stupid, but don’t expect us to keep you company. My adult kids have agreed that we will all get the vaccine as it is available to us.
Ignorance abounds on both sides of the fence. This isn’t a Trump issue-witness Robert Kennedy Jr. an anti vaccine proponent who I would hardly think is a Trump supporter. Unlike the sheep-I make my own decisions based on the evidence available-I also don’t trust anything I see on the internet but try to exercise my own due diligence and sort through the wheat and the chaff and make decisions based on MY conclusions-it’s called being a grown up and blame rests upon me and me alone for my actions. I’m set up to get my shot next Friday
Agree with Tom-we are getting our second moderna this pm, may see Mr. Winham, may not recognize us though we will be well masked and dressed like an old couple who actually enjoy being isolated and ignorant which means we can still learn. thanks ron thompson
I will not get the vaccine. I am a 58 year old female and am very healthy. I am responsible for my own health only, I am not responsible for anybody else’s health. I wear the mask only if a store manager asks me to. Some stores don’t bother me if I don’t mask up. Even the mask package says the mask will not prevent the spread of coronavirus. I do not judge others if they choose to wear a mask and if others judge me when I don’t wear a mask, well that’s fine too. Asymptomatic transmission is rare according to the WHO. My husband and I adopted a healthy lifestyle years ago and started exercising and eating healthy. In addition, we take daily Vitamin D3, Zinc and Vitamin C. This is how we choose to fight this virus and others, we know we will survive if we do catch it.