Judy: As the death toll from the
coronavirus nears one million
Americans, we have explored why
the U.S. Suffered such a
terrible loss, especially when
compared to other nations
similar to us.
While there are many reasons for
this, one of them is that many
Americans have not wanted to be
vaccinated.
William brangham examines that
part of the story.
>> Early in the pandemic, people
died from covid in big cities
and small towns.
They died in blue states and in
red states that roughly equal
rates.
But once vaccines were rolled
out, that started to change.
According to research, from late
last year on, covid deaths in
the most pro-trump counties in
America, the redline, where
about 180% of what they were in
the most pro-biden counties, the
blue line.
That disparity exists in a large
part because vaccination has
become a deeply partisan issue.
Many argue our failure to get
more Americans to take the safe
and largely life-saving vaccines
has cost this country tens of
thousands of lives.
>> The live photo of him asking
what and putting his hands on
his hips, I don't know, it is so
him.
>> Katie lane says her dad
Patrick was the best dad in the
world.
The kid who never grew up.
>> This one right here, we are
in the drive-through, my dog is
in his lap.
>> He worked for Boeing and
Washington state.
Katie said her dad knew the
pandemic was real, but was
reluctant to get the vaccine,
and he kept putting it off.
He also repeated a lot of
misinformation vaccines could
cause infertility for her, that
there were likely hidden side
effects.
>> He watched some youtubers,
Fox News, stuff like that.
For some reason with the
vaccine, people were telling you
not to get it.
For some reason, it stuck with
my dad.
That is ultimately why he didn't
choose to.
August 12, 2021.
He took a day off work, he
moved me into my first apartment
at college, and the next
morning, he gave me a big hug
and said "I'm really proud of
you," and he walked out of my
front door, hopped in the
U-Haul, and that is the last
time I ever saw him alive.
>> A few weeks later, Patrick
lane got covid and died in the
icu at a local hospital.
Liz Hamel studies public opinion
at the Kaiser family foundation,
where they have tracked
Americans' attitudes about the
covid vaccine.
In December of 2020, when
Americans were asked if they
would get a free, safe covid
vaccine, around 15% of
respondents said no matter what,
no.
That is not unusual, compared to
past polls, but who the group is
has changed.
>> One of the things that really
stands out is the partisan
divide and who is getting
vaccinated and not.
We find people who identify as
Democrats are vastly more likely
to be vaccinated compared to
people who identify as
Republicans.
>> 61% of unvaccinated people in
America today are Republican.
It is the single most reliable
predictor of vaccination status.
It wasn't the case with prior
vaccines.
Multiple polls over the last few
years showed majorities
believing in the value of the
measles, mumps, rubella vaccine,
and bipartisan uptick of the flu
vaccine.
The Kaiser foundation data hints
at why the partisan divide
emerged over covid vaccines.
A strong majorities of Democrats
say they trust these mainstream
news sources for information
about covid-19.
The only source that nearly half
of Republicans trusted was fox
News.
>> This is yet another attempt
to impeach the president --
>> From the start of the
pandemic, many of Foxe's top
anchors said the threats from
covid were being exaggerated to
harm president trump.
>> Democrats and their media
cronies have decided to
weaponize fear and also
weaponize suffering to improve
their chances against trump in
November.
>> Scaring the living hell out
of people, and I see it again as
let's bludgeon trump with this
new hoax.
>> People who have chosen not to
get the vaccine -- most of them
say they are not at all worried
about getting sick from covid.
A majority believe the news
media is exaggerating the
seriousness of the pandemic.
>> When the vaccines were
developed, Foxe gave primetime
coverage to the baseless claims
they did not work, and were in
fact harming people.
>> The mrna covid vaccines need
to be withdrawn from the market
now, no one should get them, no
one should get double boosted.
They are a dangerous and
ineffective product at this
point.
>> Personally, you don't know,
now I know --
>> We heard some of these fears
firsthand in a covid emergency
room at Baton Rouge general
hospital.
Robert Wilson did not think the
virus was much to worry about.
600,000 Americans had died at
that point.
He hadn't been vaccinated.
>> Wasn't political -- I just
didn't figure I was going to
need it.
Nobody really knows the
long-term of the vaccine people
are scared of.
>> Seeing this large number of
unvaccinated people coming
through your doors, is it
frustrating to you?
Do you think it is the way our
society is?
How do you square that?
>> I try not to dwell on it too
much.
>> Why not?
>> Because it does frustrate.
There is a little bit of we shot
ourselves in the foot.
I'm not mad at people who didn't
vaccinate, and I understand a
lot of it.
There's so much misinformation
out there, the country is so
polarized.
>> Kaiser's research found
people who chose not to get
vaccinated were also very open
to incorrect information about
the pandemic.
>> There was a tendency to
believe many multiple pieces of
misinformation.
For instance, believing things
like the government is hiding
deaths related to the covid
vaccine, believing vaccines
contain a microchip or cause
infertility.
There was a strong correlation
between vaccination status and
belief in some of the
misinformation.
>> A lot of the misinformation
and conspiracies online are
accessed by people who are not
going to get vaccinated.
>> He studies conspiracy
theories.
He argues the partisan divide
over covid vaccines is also
because of the type of
Republican that was drawn to
Donald Trump.
>> President trump built a
coalition of conspiracy minded
people.
He was doing that with
conspiratorial rhetoric.
He even engaged in
misinformation about vaccines,
claiming on Twitter at one point
long before he ran for president
that vaccines cause autism.
>> Both the president and I are
asked -- did you get the
booster?
I got it too.
>> Don't --
>> And when he makes efforts now
to say he got the shot, people
should get it, he gets booed by
his own crowd.
Becau these are the
people who he wanted around him,
so their minds are going to
change just because he says to
go get them.
>> Do you think there was any
way you could have persuaded
your dad to get vaccinated
sooner?
>> I don't think that there was.
I tried really hard.
I don't think there's anything I
could have done more.
>> Millions of Americans have
now lost a loved one to this
virus.
And so many of those deaths did
not have to occur.
For Katie lane, the coming
commemoration for the million
lives lost is for others to do.
She just wishes her dad was
still around.
>> The one million is a huge
deal, but the one in that one
million has been worth more to
me than the other 999,000.
>> For the pbs newshour, William
brangham.