Studying ways to change minds of cornavirus skeptics--incentives and respected figures .

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Tue, 2021-05-04 09:19 — mike kraft

The coronavirus vaccine skeptics who changed their minds The White House and public health experts are studying the Americans who went from "no" to "yes." Dan Diamond Washington Post

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Simmons, Bergner and Greenaway are among the growing number of vaccine skeptics turned vaccinated Americans, a sign of hope amid the slowing pace of vaccinations nationwide. Almost half of all adults have yet to receive a first shot although they are now eligible, and the rolling rate of new shots has dropped to its lowest level since mid-March.

The emergence of these mind-changers suggests that at least some vaccine-wary Americans are willing to reconsider when their concerns are addressed by those they regard as credible.

Their conversions — along with those of 16 other former skeptics who joined a focus group last week — have drawn intense interest from White House officials and public health experts, hoping to re-create those moments for the tens of millions of Americans who remain in the “no” camp. Experts fear that failing to achieve high levels of immunity could prolong the pandemic in the United States, particularly if unvaccinated people continue to be infected and the virus continues to mutate as it spreads.

“I think we should all look at India, and we should not be so arrogant as to believe that it could not happen here,” said Brian Castrucci, head of the de Beaumont Foundation, the public health organization that helped convene last week’s focus group and several prior sessions, pointing to that country’s surging outbreak.

Lessons from the focus groups and accompanying polling also informed a new series of public service announcements produced by the de Beaumont Foundation and featuring Republican doctors in Congress, which are set to be released Monday. While some vaccine skeptics have panned pitches from politicians — including high-profile PSAs starring former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — the GOP lawmakers say they believe their appeals will resonate with a conservative base that’s disproportionately resistant. About a quarter of adults say they’re not planning to get vaccinated, including about 40 percent of people who lean Republican, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released last week. ...

Participants also shared their realization that a vaccine would allow them to travel, go back to work and resume other aspects of pre-pandemic life, particularly if the shots were encouraged or required. They further praised physicians and other local health workers, who they said had helped calm their nerves. ...

ALSO SEE: $100 as a Vaccine Incentive? Experiment Suggests It Can Pay Off. --NY Times

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