Fascinating article. Well worth reading the whole thing. Here are highlights.
It’s a novel coronavirus. The only thing that could stop it was a novel vaccine.
An estimated one-third of Idaho’s population was infected by the COVID-19 virus as of late February, according to one highly regarded data scientist’s model. And now, more than one-third of Idaho’s population, has been vaccinated against it.
But Idaho public health officials say that isn’t enough to slow the spread of COVID-19, especially as coronavirus variants gain a foothold in the U.S. and in Idaho. They set a goal for 80% of Idahoans to choose to be vaccinated by this fall, and President Joe Biden recently announced an even more lofty goal.
“President Joe Biden on Tuesday set a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one shot to 70% of adult Americans by July Fourth as he tackles the vexing problem of winning over the ‘doubters’ and those unmotivated to get inoculated,” the Associated Press reported.
Idaho has struggled with vaccine hesitancy — and, in recent years, a small but loud and aggressive anti-vaccination movement.
The state in January signed a $3 million contract with G Squared LLC/GS Strategy Group — a Boise-based political, business and issues research and advocacy firm — to help combat that.
One big part of the contract was a survey of Idahoans to find out what matters to them as they make decisions about whether or not to take a vaccine.
That survey, a different one conducted by Boise State University researchers, and Idaho Capital Sun interviews suggest that Idahoans mainly fall into three groups, when it comes to being vaccinated:
- Yes, definitely.
- Not a chance.
- Unsure. Maybe worried about safety, maybe questioning efficacy, maybe waiting to see what happens as others go first.
Only about 18% of people the Idaho contractor surveyed in January said they would never get the COVID-19 vaccine. A larger group — 28% — said they planned to wait and see how it affected others before getting it themselves.
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