By Jonathan Imbody
The Washington Post recently published my commentary below in response to an article ("'I’m still a zero’: Vaccine-resistant Republicans warn that their skepticism is worsening") that examined the vaccine hesitancy of conservatives. I aimed simply to explain a divergent point of view that many Americans hold about COVID vaccines—one that rejects the messages of U.S. public health agency officials:
"Conservatives
who value limited government, federalism and checks on individual power will
disdain what they view as vaccination propaganda from partisan politicians who
have used the pandemic as a blatant power grab. Trump supporters won’t abide
vaccination rhetoric of public health officials such as Anthony S. Fauci, who
publicly dissed President Donald Trump.
"Conservatives also respect conscience convictions. While I have received the Moderna vaccine and have written of ethical and practical reasons for taking the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, I understand the apprehensions of conservative colleagues who voice concerns about the use of a fetal cell line in testing, the new mRNA technology and the lack of longitudinal studies.
"Conservative
vaccine resisters view the 'impending doom' pandemic rhetoric of this
administration as alarmist, manipulative, condescending and coercive. Some,
however, may still respond to respectful, common-sense messages from trusted
faith leaders and local health experts who can reasonably and transparently lay
out the risks of coronavirus vaccination vs. infection."
