Several new polls show that vaccine hesitancy is split
along political party lines.
An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that Republicans
are less likely to choose to get the vaccine if it's available, compared to Democrats and independents.
According to the
poll, an increasing number of Black people
- who had been identified as some of the most reluctant to get the shot - are
now saying they will.
"Since the beginning, I have seen less
hesitancy," says Rev. Dr. Sedgewick Easley, the head of Union Baptist
Church in Hempstead.
He’s been working with federal and local leaders to combat
vaccine hesitancy.
"We, as leaders, have been trying very much so to
teach our communities that this vaccine is safe, that this is not Tuskegee and
you can trust it,” he says.
However, Eamon J. Phelan, of Hauppauge, says the vaccine
was rushed and can understand way people are hesitant.
"You can't really blame them…Normally a vaccine takes
10 years, any drug takes 10 years to get FDA approval and this one was done in six
months," he says.
The poll was done in early March. Since then, many more
people have become eligible for the vaccine. Beginning on Tuesday in New York,
any over the age of 16 can begin making vaccine appointments.
Health officials say at least 70% of the public has to be
vaccinated to reach herd immunity. Researchers say they polled more than 1,200
adults. They reached out to them at home and on their cellphones, in English
and Spanish.
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