* CNBC…
• A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 71% percent of unvaccinated respondents said boosters are a sign that vaccines are not working.
• The split in attitudes toward Covid vaccines broadly continues to be a largely partisan one, the survey data shows.
• Some 90% of respondents who are Democrats said they have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose compared with 58% of Republicans.
Results are here…
Overall, the booster discussion seems to have increased rather than decreased the public’s confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines, though the opposite is true for those who remain unvaccinated. More than six in ten adults overall (62%) say the news that some people might need boosters “shows that scientists are continuing to find ways to make vaccines more effective” while one-third say it “shows that the vaccines are not working as well as promised.” Among those who are unvaccinated however, seven in ten (71%) say news about boosters is a sign that the vaccines aren’t working, including 69% of those in the “wait and see” group and 82% of those in the “definitely not” camp. Views on this topic also diverge by partisanship, with eight in ten Democrats (82%) seeing the booster discussion as a sign that scientists are continuing to find ways to make vaccines more effective and Republicans more evenly divided between this view (44%) and believing that boosters show the vaccines aren’t working well (52%).
* I’m pretty sure people would say the polio vaccine worked…
Also, I get a flu vaccine every year.
…Adding… Well, they know their audience…
When President Joe Biden announced his administration would require vaccines or weekly COVID tests for federal workers and businesses with 100 or more employees, Republicans pounced—as the saying goes—into fundraising mode.
The day after the announcement, the Republican National Committee began blasting out emails and text messages asking supporters to reach into their pockets to help fund a coming legal challenge against the supposedly “authoritarian” mandate. […]
The solicitations went out almost daily for the next two weeks, and grew increasingly Orwellian in tenor. Texts attacked Biden as “UN-AMERICAN” and a “TYRANT,” and emails played up fears of “fascist” overreach.
“You MUST step up RIGHT NOW and fund our efforts against Biden to end this EVIL vaccine mandate or all will be lost!” read an email sent Sunday, Sept. 12. Another sent around the same time reminded recipients that “lawsuits like this are expensive,” and again suggested a $45 contribution would be sufficient to back the effort.
- PublicServant - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:22 pm:
I’m also sure some will continue to say the vaccine causes covid. Natural selection will continue.
- Anyone Remember - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:34 pm:
For those who watch Prime Minister’s Questions. Recently BoJo’s ruling party is maskless (with very few exceptions), and all the Opposition Parties are masked when not speaking. Seems the political divide over COVID isn’t just in the US.
- Occasional Quipper - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:41 pm:
People need to spend more time questioning their own politics and less time questioning the scientists. Vaccines work. And even in cases where the Covid vaccine isn’t 100% effective, it still reduces the symptoms and mortality rates. I got my shot (Johnson and Johnson 1 shot) as soon as I was eligible and I plan to get a booster as soon as it’s available. Looking at that polio card it appears there was even a 5th shot given (shown at the bottom of the card) in this person’s case. Yet the success of the polio vaccine cannot be denied. Just get the shots people, however many it takes.
- James the Intolerant - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:47 pm:
I was just in Portugal and they are 77% fully vaccinated and currently have a mask mandate. No one beefed about it the entire time we were there.
- Bruce( no not him) - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:49 pm:
“It’s not effective enough. I’ll never get one”
People who won’t get the shot anyway, just looking for justifications.
- Cool Papa Bell - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:52 pm:
Was at a local farmers market this weekend where they were offering COVID shots. Over 4 hours I saw 3 people get a shot. I was both sad and happy about that. Everyone who got the shot was elderly and I was very pleased when I saw a vendor who we’ve gotten to know a little bit get his too.
Sure don’t know why he waited this long - but feeling good that he finally got a shot.
- Turn Two - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:07 pm:
Always love when people bring up polio/flu in to compare what is going on now. Take the polio vaccine- you DON’T get polio. Take covid vaccine- you can still get infected and can still pass it on. Take the flu vaccine- you can still get the flu and can still transmit.
Terrible comparison. People have every right to question what is going on with covid vaccine and the purpose.
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:07 pm:
The political divide on the efficacy of vaccines is pretty simple to explain for me.
Republicans tend to generally see the world in black and white, yes and no. It’s either all or nothing. If it’s not all(vaccine is 100% effective in all cases), then it’s nothing. There is no nuance, but reality is full of nuance.
I’ve known for years that my TdAP vaccine will likely eventually need a booster as I get older. That doesn’t mean it never worked, or that I think a booster would be useless.
This is why my concern going forward is how this attitude is going to impact the rest of the vaccine universe. As I’ve said here before, there were already mumps outbreaks happening in my area before COVID. As mumps has such a high bar for herd immunity to be in place, it only needs to be a very small minority not being vaccinated for this to also become a problem.
- SaulGoodman - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:11 pm:
**People have every right to question what is going on with covid vaccine and the purpose.**
Say more, please. What exactly do you think the purpose of the COVID vaccines is?
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:14 pm:
== Take the polio vaccine- you DON’T get polio ==
No, that’s not true. Stop being proud of your ignorance. This is exactly the faulty black and white thinking I referred to in my previous comment.
The polio vaccine has exactly the same effect. If you DID get polio after being vaccinated, and that did happen to about 1 out of 100 children, the severity of it was greatly reduced. As in you wouldn’t need an iron lung to continue breathing.
It took a bit over 20 years to eliminate polio in the US after vaccination started. It didn’t go away instantly.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:14 pm:
==People have every right to question what is going on with covid vaccine and the purpose.==
And places of employment have every right to tell those people thank you for your service and have a nice day if they don’t want to get the vaccine.
If you don’t have a medical condition that is preventing you from getting a vaccine then get the vaccine. Period. And if you don’t I think employers and the rest of society should rightly ostracize you.
- park - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:17 pm:
I think it is fair to say the vaccines don’t work as well as originally ‘expected’. Can’t remember what was ‘promised’. But they do a really good job of keeping you alive, that’s proven. Got the booster yesterday (over 65).
- Glenn - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:21 pm:
At the time of Rich’s post on Friday(around 4:30 pm)I had already received my third shot.
People have watched too much Star Trek and believe every problem presented to scientific scrutiny will have a solution found in the time allotted by broadcast media for a tidily wrapped and complete conclusion.
Science, like life, is a process.
Get your shots, already.
- ArchPundit - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:21 pm:
===Take the polio vaccine- you DON’T get polio. Take covid vaccine- you can still get infected and can still pass it on. Take the flu vaccine- you can still get the flu and can still transmit.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/six-important-things-know-about-breakthrough-infections-180978408/
1 1/2 years into this and it’s just painful to listen to people who refuse to know anything about what they speak.
“Even the measles vaccine, which is incredibly effective, fails to protect about 3 percent of vaccinated individuals who are exposed to the virus. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine—hailed a medical miracle—was 80 percent to 90 percent effective at preventing paralysis caused by the polio virus. Breakthrough infections of flu are even more common. While the exact effectiveness of the flu vaccine fluctuates year-to-year, it ranges between 40 percent and 60 percent.
Measles and polio breakthrough infections aren’t just rare because the vaccines are so effective but also because those who are vaccinated rarely interact with infected people. Even with highly effective vaccines for Covid-19, breakthrough infections are likely to keep happening because the virus is so widespread.”
- Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:27 pm:
Perception, to Republican governors, is more important than facts.
If only 58 percent of Republicans have been vaccinated, and upwards of 90 percent of Covid infections now are unvaccinated people, one might conclude most Covid deaths now are those unvaccinated Republicans.
While GOP governors are pandering to their base, they are simultaneously reducing their base.
- Scott Cross for President - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:32 pm:
If you’d like to take a trip into Dr. Ezike’s mind these days, check this out: https://bit.ly/2XWmPMA. (NSFW)
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:42 pm:
===1 1/2 years into this and it’s just painful to listen to people who refuse to know anything===
And are proud of their stupidity.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:46 pm:
=I think it is fair to say the vaccines don’t work as well as originally ‘expected’.=
I think we were told that the vaccines (varies by manufacturer) were expected to be up to 95% effective. Fast forward to today and about 95% of the people in the hospital are unvaccinated. Seems to me like vaccines are delivering on their promise. And that math makes a pretty compelling argument.
- Jocko - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:54 pm:
Earlier today, I saw them compare Ireland to Alabama (5 million)
Ireland: 90% vaxxed, 65 in ICU, 4 dead last week
Alabama: 52% vaxxed, 660 in ICU, 116 dead last week
- jimbo - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:04 pm:
~~I think it is fair to say the vaccines don’t work as well as originally ‘expected’. Can’t remember what was ‘promised’~~
I’d say that’s a demonstrably false statement and Norway would like to have a word with you about it.
The difference is that it only works when used.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:18 pm:
==I think it is fair to say the vaccines don’t work as well as originally ‘expected’==
The vaccines are working exactly as expected.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:34 pm:
@paek- in your post you state that you don’t remember what exactly was expected but you don’t think the vax is working as expected.a bit of a contradiction isn’t it?
That said, polio and small pox were defeated due to an overwhelming heard immunity. Same with other diseases. We still see mumps and measles out breaks in areas where there is a density of unvaccinated people. Those cases threaten even the vaccinated for the very reason others have posted about here- break through cases.
If we were above 80% vaccination rate in the US, variants would still develop but much more slowly as there would be fewer infections to incubate the opportunity.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:43 pm:
I’m denying the deniers, the complainers, those who discourage vax and mask. they are (could be) dead to me.
- Thomas Paine - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:59 pm:
Comfirmation Bias.
Every new piece of evidence showing vaccines are highly effective is only going to make anti-vaxxers dig in deepercand cling to their comspiracies more tightly.
=== Some 90% of respondents who are Democrats said they have received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose compared with 58% of Republicans. ===
This is a real problem for Republicans. Democrats have pretty much achieved herd immunity within their community. As long as they get their boosters and stick with each other, Democratic casualties are going to be pretty minimal.
The opposite is true for Republicans, who have a long way to go to achieve herd immunity within their sub-community, and i dont expect anything will convince them to shift course absent a big push from Evangelical leaders.
If Republicans and Democrats lived largely together, those vaccinated Democrats would afford some herd immunity to Republicans as well, but because of political apartheid, Republicans find themselves in mortal trouble.
How bad is it for Republicans?
Modeling earlier this summer predicted US deaths would peak at 1400 per day in mid-September, but said 50K lives could be saved if more people wore masks.
Instead, Republicans have thrown caution to the wind and we’re currently averaging over 2000 US deaths a day, and instead of reaching 100K additional deaths “by the start of December”, it looks like we will hit that milestone by mid-October, and see perhaps 800K total deaths by Christmas.
The CDC now predicts Illinois will reach 28K deaths around October 15th.
- Just a guy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 5:09 pm:
My girlfriend and I both are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer variety. Drove to Indiana to get the first shot back in April because of the delays in Chicago. We recently traveled to Nevada and shortly after returning, she tested positive for COVID. She had some sinus congestion, felt lethargic and lost her sense of smell for a time (it’s starting to come back now). And every day, she said the same thing: “I’m just glad I was vaccinated so that this wasn’t worse. I’m not in the hospital, I’m not deathly ill and I am already feeling better.” THAT is what was promised, and it’s exactly what was delivered. Get your shots already!
- Huh? - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 11:14 pm:
Glass half full means someone stopped pouring the booze too soon.
Glass half empty means I have some more drinking to do.