Posted on 05/17/2021 8:32:52 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Many rural Americans are reluctant or unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19, raising concerns about rural America's ability to achieve "herd immunity." But health care experts have some recommendations of how to persuade rural residents to get vaccinated.
Chris Haugen and Mark Strand reflect the new great divide in rural America: whether or not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Haugen believes in freedom of choice and the importance of thinking for himself. And the 44-year-old Butte, N.D., farmer and entrepreneur has decided not to be vaccinated.
"I'm just not going to do it," he said, citing his distrust of the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as his belief that the dangers of COVID-19 have been exaggerated.
Strand is a Portland, N.D., farm kid who retains close ties with, and strong affection for, rural America. He's also a professor in the Pharmacy Practice and Public Health departments at North Dakota State University, as well as an epidemiologist, or a specialist in epidemics.
He's worried that many rural Americans say they're not going to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite what his professional expertise tells him is overwhelming evidence in favor of it.
"This has been a prolonged, devastating pandemic. The only way through is high vaccine rates," he said.
While many Americans have been vaccinated, or soon will be, Haugen is far from alone. All across rural America a solid core of residents are hesitating — or flat-out refusing — to be vaccinated. Just one measure of that: A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 30% of rural residents say they will either “definitely not” get vaccinated or will only do so if required. That's nearly double the 16% of urban residents who gave that answer.
(Excerpt) Read more at duluthnewstribune.com ...
There appear to be many reasons why some rural Americans aren’t getting vaccinated. The list includes:
Distrust of the federal government.
Concern that possible side effects of the vaccination shots could hamper ag producers during planting and calving.
The assertion that expert recommendations have changed over time. (Health care experts respond that they wisely changed their recommendations as new and better information became available.)
Traditional rural self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
A belief that the pandemic is primarily an urban problem, not a rural one.
Lack of confidence in experts such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The organization, the U.S. agency charged with tracking and investigating public health trends, has played a leading role in nationwide use to combat the pandemic.
Concern that variant strains of COVID-19 will make current vaccines ineffective.
Ping!
What happened to...
My body. My choice.
The government is the one dividing people. I don’t care if someone wants to get the vaccine or not. I chose not to. You have biden now saying if you have the vaccine you don’t have to wear a mask. If no vaccine you have to wear one. Why.
Why yes, I was vaccinated. Decades ago for something. So, yes. Current lab trials? Not so much.
I am a free american vet. Fondling Joe Biden can kiss off.
What happened to “natural immunity”? People that had Covid are actually at lower risk for re-infection.
But yes, we have turned into a collective democracy (mob rule) instead of the “accountable individual”. Socialism group think—— deadly ends.
Agreed. And thank you for your service.
The VA has FINALLY stopped calling and e-mailing me, offering me a vax.
I’ve ignored them so far and when they’ve been persistent, I’ve told them I’m LOVING living in my Cow Town County with NO CovidBS-19 deaths.
WTH would I drive into ‘The People’s Republic of Madistan’ to get a shot for something I could easily catch THERE, but not be exposed to if I just stay home?
Yeesh!
If vaccinations work then why are those taking the drug worried about others who do not???
“Lack of confidence in experts such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “
The CDC are not experts at medicine. They are politicians as proven by their ridiculous and retarded mask mandates.
“But health care experts have some recommendations of how to persuade rural residents to get vaccinated”
By now, if people have no intentions of getting vaccinated, then they aren’t going to no matter what anyone says. I fall in this category. I have zero interest in anything government officials or these medical experts have to say.
They know many people, including elderly, who tested positive for Covid but suffered no real or difficult symptoms.
Common sense tells them you don’t take medications you don’t need, especially ones that haven’t been tested before, or ones where all the animals died in the tests.
I do not consider myself “rural”, small town, yes. They can stick their Vaccine up their poop chute but not in my arm.
I was vaccinated - my choice. Having been vaccinated, my interest in whether some stranger has been vaccinated is zero, as it should be. They cannot spread COVID-19 to me regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated or not, and I can’t spread it to them.
The chart is interesting. It looks like the 20% “Definitely Not” is stable, but the wait and see folk are steadily moving to get vaccinated.
By those numbers it looks like 70% of folk will end up getting vaccinated, which should be fine for herd immunity.
✅ Refused!
There appears to be a rather direct correlation between all of the political corruption, the “virus”, and the vaccine - all perpetrated by “the powers that be” who are invisible.
A bogus election leading to a tyrannical government, that is working hand in hand with a propaganda media machine, mandating the second half of a binary bioweapon tends to make folks a bit uncomfortable.
Let’s see in a few years what this experimental vaccine really had as an end goal. It ain’t good.
Yeah, I’m rural and a combat vet. Not getting the jab. No effing way.
The purpose of the ‘vaccine’ effort IS to divide America further. Not just rural Americans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.