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If firefighters or rescue workers are sometimes unwilling to accept a corona vaccine, then the US has a problem, the scope of which may be underestimated.
Opponents of vaccination in New York: Demonstration on Sunday against the corona measures.
Photo: Tayfun Coskun (Getty)
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 at the latest, New York firefighters have been considered heroes in America. His courage and commitment are regularly praised as exemplary. Now they could become role models in a completely different sense. According to a survey by the firefighters union, 55 percent of its members refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. This was reported by the “New York Post” tabloid, citing union boss Andy Ansbro.
“They are grateful that vaccination is not mandatory because they don’t want to be the guinea pigs.”
The problem: Firefighters are not alone in their skepticism about vaccines. In August, the MTA, responsible for the New York subway system, asked among its employees. Result: Only 30 percent of those surveyed said they definitely wanted to get vaccinated. 38 percent were unsure, 32 percent said they refused to get vaccinated. Even among the employees of the emergency services, there is no pronounced willingness to vaccinate. Their union boss, Oren Barzilay, said: “They are grateful that vaccination is not mandatory, because they don’t want to be the guinea pigs.” He himself wants to wait and see how bad the side effects are.
Religious groups categorically reject vaccines
Top American immunologist Anthony Fauci says the pandemic in the country can only be contained if 70 to 75 percent of Americans get vaccinated. However, it seems that this number may be difficult to reach. If even “frontline workers” such as firefighters and rescue workers are sometimes unwilling to get vaccinated, it appears that a problem is developing in the US, the magnitude of which is possibly underestimated.
Various religious groups categorically reject vaccines of all kinds. Experience shows that persuasion does not help in these cases. In addition, the black population is sometimes very critical of the health system, which has historical reasons. One of them is the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Between 1932 and 1972, researchers in Tuskegee, Alabama, had studied how untreated syphilis affected the human body. They did this by observing several hundred African American men infected over a long period of time and depriving them of drugs that could have cured the disease. They told the men they had bad blood. These inhumane attempts have traumatized parts of the black community. It wasn’t until 2010 that the US government apologized.
The bad experiences of African Americans
Unsurprisingly, blacks are less willing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus than any other population group. Distrust of the health system is widespread to this day. The Pew Research Center found that only 32 percent of African Americans surveyed would agree to get vaccinated. This issue is from September. It could possibly be low President Joe Biden getting more black people through vaccination, as Biden is much more trusted among African Americans than incumbent Donald Trump.
However, it is considered possible that under President Biden many Trump supporters loses interest in vaccination. It was feared that they might see the vaccine as the product of a hated government and therefore reject it on principle. That may not sound particularly rational, but those debates are not about rationality. How difficult it could be to vaccinate Americans in general can be seen from the fact that there is actually an association called “New York Masters Against the Vaccine” – “New York Masters Against the Vaccine.”
“They are called the bravest and not the smartest.”
The government is planning a widespread education campaign to get as many Americans vaccinated as possible. Three previous presidents have also offered their help. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama agreed to inject the vaccine publicly in an attempt to build greater confidence.
Featured Role Models: Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton want the vaccine to be injected publicly to build confidence.
Photo: Larry Downing (Reuters)
According to union boss Andy Ansbro, the fact that pushback is so high among New York firefighters everywhere is because they don’t feel like a risk group. The “New York Post” also quotes an unidentified firefighter, who is not surprised that most of his colleagues do not want to be vaccinated. “They are called the bravest,” he said, “and not the smartest.”
