* The Republicans don’t have a single statewide officeholder in Illinois. They are vastly outnumbered in the congressional delegation, where their party is in the minority in both chambers. And, of course, the GOP is in the super-minority in both state legislative chambers.
There is something that Illinois Republican Party leaders can and should do to help their state right now, though: Encourage their fellow Republicans to get vaccinated….
But a new national poll found that vaccine hesitancy may be more political than racial. The poll, conducted by Civiqs, found that 56% of white Republican voters reported they would not accept a vaccine or weren’t sure, compared to only [29]% of Black voters who answered the poll. Other polls have found that as many as 35% of Black Americans have reported vaccine hesitancy.
The poll found that 41 percent of white Republicans said they would not take the vaccine and 14 percent were unsure, while 15 percent of Black voters said they won’t take the vaccine and 14 percent were unsure.
* And it’s not just one poll. CBS News survey of 1,500 adult citizens in the U.S. was conducted by YouGov between February 21-24, 2021…
* Monmouth national poll…
Democrats are most eager to get the vaccine as soon as possible (72% when combined with those who already got the vaccine) – much more so than independents (51%) and Republicans (39%). More than 4 in 10 Republicans (42%) say they will avoid ever getting the vaccine if they can, which is significantly higher than the number of independents (25%) and Democrats (10%) who feel the same.
* Colorado registered voters also taken last month…
Only 29% of Republicans, however, said they’d get a coronavirus vaccine, according to the poll. Meanwhile, 57% said they would not get inoculated while 12% said they were undecided.
* Oregon…
According to polling figures released in January by Oregon Business & Industry, 48% of Republicans in the state were willing to get vaccinated compared with 88% of Democrats.
* Michigan…
The poll released Tuesday also found that while large percentages of self-identified Democrats and independents plan to get vaccinated, nearly half of Republicans — 47% — do not, compared with 46% who plan to be vaccinated.
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:13 pm:
Nothing quite like catching COVID-19 to own the libs.
- Two Cent Ante - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:16 pm:
I’ve grown to not really trust poll responses from registered Republicans.
The results are the results, but I’m curious if the polls weight the responses to factor the need by many registered GOP members to respond not necessarily with a truthful answer, but an answer that is most likely to trigger outrage.
I’m wondering about a mysterious subset of Americans who will claim publicly to be against receiving a vaccination, but privately go and get the shot.
- Annonin' - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:17 pm:
But now that Trump’s secret is out they will rush to get shots…right?
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:23 pm:
I know this is antidotal but people I see frequently and judging from there comments are almost all Republicans are all trying to get vaccinated or are already vaccinated. But this group is almost exclusively elderly. I wonder if age makes a difference in attitude. And frankly if you are too stupid to get vaccinated I don’t want to hear you complain when you get ill. I just hope you don’t spread it. And when all vaccines are readily and easily available I will not wear a mask you have assumed risk
- dbk - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:31 pm:
And this is the party that purportedly supports small businesses, which will never return to pre-Covid levels if we don’t reach herd immunity through vaccination.
The cognitive dissonance, it burns.
- JoanP - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:33 pm:
So they want literally to kill off the GOP?
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:00 pm:
“Democrats are most eager to get the vaccine as soon as possible”
Got my first shot and worked hard for it, going the extra mile to get it, no pun intended. Those who take the vaccine are the most prepared for greater economic reopening. One can’t be the political party of economic reopening yet not support the necessary actions that make it possible.
- Anon221 - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:02 pm:
Well, we can always compare those vaccinated in each county to number of registered voters down the road. Granted you won’t know if a D or R or I was vaccinated, but if a R county has a high percentage of residents vaccinated, you gotta know some of the R’s got theirs. Bailey country will be interesting to watch. Also, when the J & J is widely available, that might change some people’s minds/perceptions, too. Easier and one-shot.
- North Park - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:12 pm:
==Bailey country will be interesting to watch.==
The Trib has a state map for vaccination rate by percentage of population by county. I swear there’s a line of demarcation running through Decatur. West of the line, wonderful rates. East…not so much.
- Socially DIstant watcher - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:21 pm:
Have Republicans forgotten that dead people can’t vote?
- Colin O'Scopy - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:43 pm:
Vaccinations are arguably the one thing that will accelerate the full-on opening of business. Yet some Republicans simply see this in terms of politics, if the polls are to be believed. Get.The.Darn.Shot. Or don’t. I really don’t care. As my Dad likes to say, “all the more for me”.
But if you want to continue complaining and choose not to get the shot, keep your opinions to yourselves.
- don the legend - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 2:05 pm:
GOP covidiots don’t buy the argument that getting vaccinated will open up the economy faster….
because GOP covidiots don’t believe the economy ever should have been slowed/shut down.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 2:12 pm:
It continues to amaze me how a pandemic can be political. The U.S. is an embarassment when it comes to how we have dealt with this pandemic. The selfishness exhibited by so many during this time is astonishing.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 2:18 pm:
To the post,
The only thing I think I can say is Rich is correct, that I know, but I can’t speak to how folks who’ve been dishonest about the pandemic for political purposes for going on a year be willing to now but into, politically to their person, the vaccine push to get us back to a normalcy sooner.
I look at the squaring up this thinking needs, they’d have to be willing to stand up to fight a virus they’ve downplayed, dismissed, even ridiculed as dangerous.
I wish they would, it would help on, arguably, nearly half a dozen fronts, including the political front… but, yikes… promoting a better way out of this for health reasons (vaccination) is sadly off brand.
It’s also disheartening too.
- Teacher Lady - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 3:40 pm:
As my Dad likes to say, “all the more for me”.
My Dad used to say, “You can’t fix stupid.”
- Educated Voter - Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 4:17 pm:
Well, you can tell Trump has drawn the non college educated to the GOP from this poll. The vaccines are also made from stem cells which Republican legislators mostly voted to prohibit. However, Pres. Geo. W. Bush allowed SOME stem cells to be used for research thank God. Note: the Vatican has said theses stem cell derived Covid vaccines are approved.