Last winter, about 80 percent of the pharmacies I checked didn’t have Covid vaccines. The few that did have doses available were fully booked. The first vaccines to go out to the public were rationed. Eligibility was initially confined to people considered most vulnerable. In slow March, states began opening eligibility to all adults, including Texas, where I live. On March 26, I happened to drop by a Dougherty’s pharmacy in Dallas to pick up medication for my dog. About 100 people had formed a makeshift line outside the pharmacy. The line started inside, near the back of Dougherty’s, and snaked around the corner, filling the sidewalk almost to the alley behind the building. Most were clutching the papers reserving their shots.
A month later I went back to Dougherty’s to get my dog’s meds refilled. There was a nurse at the table, but no one in line to get the vaccine. About 10 minutes later, a single woman came in to get it.II booster dose. Earlier that morning, I got my first dose of the vaccine at a CVS pharmacy a few miles away in Plano, Texas. There were plenty of seats available and a miniature wait. Sure enough, a few days later, CVS announced it would begin accepting walk-in customers without an appointment. A nurse at Dougherty’s and a CVS pharmacist had similar stories. The vaccine euphoria has evaporated and vaccine seekers have slowed to a crawl. Analysis by New York Times found that vaccination rates peaked in mid-April and declined by 50 percent in the following weeks.
Vaccine hesitancy, as it is sometimes called, extends quite deep into Texas. In early May, only about a quarter of Texans had been vaccinated, although that number has likely increased slightly since then. The Texas Department of State Health Services believes most Texans who want the vaccine have received at least one dose. The state agency believes the next step will be to make it easier for people who want to get vaccinated but don’t want to put in much effort.
What’s behind the slowdown in vaccinations? Experts agree that those who haven’t been vaccinated yet either 1) don’t want the vaccine, 2) have concerns about the vaccine’s safety or effectiveness, or 3) simply don’t have the motivation to find vaccine providers and make an appointment.
Vaccine hesitancy affects about a third of adults. For example, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a survey in April that found that 15 percent of respondents who did not receive a vaccination plan would “wait and see.” Another 6 percent would get vaccinated “only if necessary,” and 13 percent would refuse the vaccine.
I spoke with Adam Bruggeman, a physician in San Antonio, and he told me that vaccine hesitancy is not the same problem as the logistics of making vaccines available to everyone. He believes that vaccine hesitancy is largely due to needy leadership, inconsistent messaging and excessive bias. To educate those exposed to vaccine misinformation, he started a website, GetMyCovidVaccine.org Let us hope that the matter will be clarified.
In early May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that just under half of the population (nearly 45 percent) had received at least one dose of the vaccine. However, only one-third of Americans have been fully vaccinated. With the exception of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, two doses are required for optimal immunity against Covid. The CDC is concerned about the slowing pace of vaccinations. The agency also isn’t sure what to make of the growing number of people skipping their second doses.
Dr. Bruggeman assured me that partial vaccination is still effective; one dose is simply not as effective as two doses. He believes the current goal should be to ensure that as many people as want are fully vaccinated. About 1 million Texans are believed to have missed their second vaccine, and 60,000 doses were spoiled due to a recent lack of demand.
This is not a partisan issue. Polls conducted by the University of Texas for Tribute to Texas found that half of Republicans and nearly a third of Democrats – about 30 percent – have doubts about vaccines in general. I talked about this with Merrill Mathews, a resident scientist at the Texas Institute for Policy Innovation. He told me that many Democrats questioned the safety and effectiveness of vaccines when Donald Trump was still president. The results were predictable, he said. “We planted the seed of doubt, now we see the results.”
What might motivate some hesitant people to get at least one dose of the vaccine? West Virginia has begun offering residents a $100 savings deposit for those getting vaccinated. Ohio is holding a vaccine lottery that gives up to five lucky people a chance to win $1 million. It will also award a similar number of scholarships to vaccinated students. Other states are considering following suit.
There are other ways to motivate stragglers besides taxpayer funds. Why not look for public-private partnerships? For example, the New York Yankees and Mets have offered free tickets to people who get the (one-shot) Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the parking lot before games. Some breweries have held “shot and chaser” vaccination events, where people who want to get vaccinated under a tent in the parking lot are given free beer coupons. There are certainly many other private businesses that would jump at the chance for free advertising and public goodwill. State and federal officials will also have to recognize that some people will refuse to get vaccinated no matter what is offered.
Devon M. Herrick, Ph.D. (devonherrick@sbcglobal.net) is a health economist and policy advisor at the Heartland Institute. An abbreviated version appeared in the June issue of Health Care News from the Heartland Institute.
