NY Times released a new story this morning about vaccine attitudes. It is very true that vaccine attitudes differ among both political groups and racial groups.
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The two groups seem to have different motivations. For Republicans, the attitude is connected to a general skepticism of government and science. For Black and Hispanic Americans, it appears to stem from the country’s legacy of providing substandard medical treatment, and sometimes doing outright harm, to minorities.
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However, education appears to be a better predictor of vaccine attitudes than political party or racial group.
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This makes sense. Those who are promoting the vaccine are almost all educated, many with either a medical degree or a graduate degree. People most trust those who are in the same class as they are. Education is a better predictor of political party than racial group. White voters are more likely to be members of the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. Those who are educated are more likely to be members of the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. So what happens if we have a highly educated white person ? Which will win out ? A highly educated white person is more likely to be a member of the Democratic Party than the Republican Party.
Due to my isolation and various medical issues (asthma which is not well controlled, sleeping one hour at a time consistently for almost 3 years, extreme nausea / vomiting), it has been hard for me to get my shot. I have symptoms of a urinary tract infection as well. The story about the terrible side effects after taking the vaccine didn’t help me at all. It just put another obstacle in my path. However, I plan to do so. I struggle with irrational fears and phobias. I had scheduled a Johnson and Johnson vaccine shot at the pharmacy in the local grocery store in my city, only a few miles away. The morning of the appointment, my closest friend in the world lost her husband. He had passed at 4 am. I learned of his passing a little after 9 am. I was upset personally about his passing, but even more distraught for my friend. I needed to be there for my friend and I wasn’t sure I could be if I had severe side effects from the vaccine. I ended up canceling the appointment.
I will be looking for another appointment in the future. I want to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because I don’t want to have to overcome my phobias / fears twice.
Monday, May 24, 2021 · 3:54:11 PM +00:00 · Dem
This medical innovation was primarily driven by a need to fight the pandemic. That is what created the need. Then it had to be approved by the FDA whose motivation was to save lives. Vaccine manufacturers even worked together because of the need. I am reticent to address conspiracy theories and conspiratorial ways of thinking. However, since it was brought up, I find this way of thinking to be unhelpful. Humans are imperfect. Humans do lie. Humans are everywhere in society and some work for the federal government. However, the more people who are involved in a conspiracy, the more likely it is that the conspiracy will be revealed. There is so much technology and so much information available today that believing that the federal government has some sort of nefarious purpose in promoting the vaccine is not well-founded. Have some members of our federal government lied to the American people ? Yes, but they were contradicted by other members of the federal government. Most people who work for the federal government are honest people. The media has a financial incentive (among others) to reveal lies by the federal government.
I can’t dissuade somebody who is bound and determined to adopt conspiratorial ways of thinking or who embraces conspiracy theory as a legitimate approach to determining truth. I find it unfortunate that on a diary about vaccine shots, somebody decided to promote conspiracy theory as a legitimate approach to determining truth. Since this is a matter of life and death, I find that not merely unfortunate, but irresponsible and it could prove deadly and I certainly wish that it had not been promoted in the comments below.