Growing frustration with the ongoing pandemic is boiling, with all eyes on the unvaccinated as the key to getting through the COVID-19 crisis.
As cases approach winter levels, the United States has decided how to treat and treat the millions who have not yet been shot, months after they became widely available.
In response, some have resorted to teasing and joking about the unvaccinated, according to an approach that public health and psychology experts say is unlikely to change the minds of hardline or vaccine activists.
Experts support stricter actions such as mandates to increase the vaccination rate and protect the public, although several also encourage patience while acknowledging the increased irritation. President Biden
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Gary Bennett, a professor of psychology, neuroscience, global health and medicine at Duke University, said the “national shift toward much more frustration” targeting unvaccinated people is likely related to the highly transmissible delta variant that has increased hospitalizations across the country and has led to more advanced cases.
“It seems to be a pretty important driver of this most recent type of concern for a large number of people who remain unvaccinated,” Bennett said.
Nearly five months after all adults were eligible for vaccination, approximately a quarter of American adults, or 62.5 million, have not received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Although more than half of the total population has received at least one dose at the end of May, the vaccination rate has not been high enough to slow down COVID-19. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths have increased in recent months, reaching a daily average of more than 152,000 seven-day daily cases, approximately 100,000 admissions and 1,800 deaths.
“Clearly, there is a lot of human wood to burn this coronavirus forest fire,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Federal public health officials have repeatedly called the rise a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” as there is a large majority of hospitalizations and deaths among those who never received a shot.
But the vaccinated population has also been affected, as advanced cases increase and health officials recommend masks for everyone, regardless of their vaccination status.
Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of public health at George Washington University, described the exasperation of the vaccinated population as “understandable,” as they “did everything right” and were shot.
“I think a lot of these individuals are wondering,‘ Why are we being punished because of the decisions of others? “Why do vaccinated people pay the price of unvaccinated people?”
Google’s trends show an increase in searches for the term “unvaccinated” in early August, after being previously described as “hesitant,” said Drew Westen, a professor in the psychology and psychiatry departments of Emory University.
This change occurred about ten days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that fully vaccinated people be re-masked while inside high-risk areas.
“This has become the term,” Westen said. “Now, they are.” They are an “they.” They are an “other.” … 70% of Americans are the problem now. “
Experts agreed that the unvaccinated population is not a homogeneous faction, as there are two main subgroups: those who still have questions and those who say they will never get the shot, leaving the vaccine to juggle how to interact. with them.
Some have devoted themselves to humor, with the presentation of social gatherings in the evening Jimmy Kimmel
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But Osterholm warned that the spread of COVID-19 among unvaccinated people “is no joke.”
“That’s life and death,” he said. “It’s not funny. So I think we can make very strong statements about it, but I don’t think humor has anything to do with it and it shouldn’t be used.”
In the same vein, The Dallas Morning News the editorial board last week advised readers who mocked the anti-vaccine and anti-mask activists killed by COVID-19 to “resist the urge to shout” I told you! “”
“Mocking vaccine skeptics who have been fed misinformation will not convince people on the fence to get vaccinated,” the editorial board wrote. “Our inclination should be to show others that we care about them, not to win any arguments.”
Noel Brewer, a professor of health behavior at the University of North Carolina, said the approach taken by some vaccinated people can have unintended consequences.
“If in a conversation about vaccination he was already angry, it will have no impact and maybe make things worse,” he said. “If it can reasonably be said to be based on a point of interest and concern without anger, it may have an impact.”
He said holding several discussions for 5 to 10 minutes for a month or two increases the chances of convincing someone to get vaccinated.
Overall, the unvaccinated population is made up “disproportionately” of those who identify as Republicans, younger adults, people with lower levels of education, people in rural areas, and people without health insurance, said Liz Hamel, director of public opinion and Kaiser Family Foundation survey research, citing the organization’s most recent July survey.
The national vaccination rate has risen slightly since then, as the delta strain wreaked havoc across the country, but the number of new shots has not been enough to change the pandemic tide.
For this reason, public health experts are supporting vaccine mandates and other requirements as the next effort to try to persuade unvaccinated people to get the sting.
“I think we want to maintain a stance where there is some empathy that informs our decision making, but in this context, the best chances I think we have for a grassroots change here are really policies that require vaccination,” he said. Bennett of Duke University said. “I think we’re getting to a point where I think it’s going to be necessary.”