Vaccine-skeptical Trump country poses challenge to immunization push ~ Right.. You god-damn anti-vaxxers are risking our lives!

The expansion in vaccine supply marks a critical time to confront deep skepticism among large numbers of rural whites and Republicans.

The Biden administration can finally ship large quantities of coronavirus shots into the American heartland, where health officials are encountering a reservoir of vaccine skepticism among rural Americans who’ve adopted former President Donald Trump’s denial of a virus battering their communities.

If a critical mass of people don’t accept Covid-19 vaccines, the country won’t achieve “herd immunity.” When there was just a trickle of vaccines, hesitancy didn’t matter as much because plenty of people were clamoring for the scarce shots. Now that the supply is ramping up, the challenge is to overcome fear, distrust and outright antagonism to the new vaccines shared by some groups in large numbers. That’s the path to save lives, slow the emergence of new virus variants, end the stress on the health care system and restore the economy.

“We’ve got fairly good trust — but there’s a block of the community, or the population, who thinks that this is a hoax, that it’s to exert control to limit people’s freedom,” said Mike Holmes, who for over 40 years has been CEO of Scenic Rivers Health Services in one of the most rural regions of Minnesota. “That’s a hard group to convince.”

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