These Californians are less worried about COVID-19, getting a vaccine or wearing a mask
Fewer than half of California Republican voters are eager to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a recent survey gauging interest in the shots the promise to be the single best tool in ending the deadly pandemic.
Sixty-four percent of the 10,358 registered voters surveyed for a Feb. 18 UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies report said they already received or were “very likely” to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Among Republicans, only 44% said the same.
Republicans also were less concerned about falling sick with with COVID-19.
While more than half of the respondents said they were “very concerned” with contracting and spreading the virus, only 27% of Republicans reported the same fear.
In contrast, 68% of Democrats said they were very worried about getting COVID-19.
The numbers reflect a continuing trend that began last spring of “many voters seeing the virus and now the vaccine through a partisan lens,” said Cristina Mora, co-director of the institute.
They also indicate a “collapse of Republican support for science and evidence,” said California GOP strategist Mike Madrid, which has allowed the anti-vaccine and conspiracy movement to flourish in the party.
“Republican orthodoxy is now about choosing your own reality,” Madrid said. “There’s a general mistrust in institutions that’s hit a crisis point.”
That apprehension and distrust in government authorities and medical expertise has flourished during the pandemic, Madrid said, in part because former President Donald Trump publicly downplayed the severity of COVID-19, along with public health recommendations to mitigate its spread.
“If Donald Trump had been very pro-vaccine, pro (Dr. Anthony) Fauci, pro-mask, you wouldn’t see this happening now,” Madrid said.
Republicans also expressed “far less concern” with following public health and safety protocol, the report included, like wearing masks and social distancing.
Around two in five Republicans were somewhat or very worried about people flouting the guidelines, while that anxiety among Democrats exceeded 85%.
GOP voters are also less likely to support local ordinances that require face masks in retail stores and other public venues, though 65% said they somewhat or strongly backed these rules. Only 32%, however, supported restrictions on in-person religious services.
The statistics present a challenge for Republican political leaders, GOP consultant Rob Stutzman said.
While 60% of voters surveyed said getting vaccinated was part of a collective responsibility to protect others from COVID-19, 69% of Republicans said receiving the shot was instead a personal choice.
“Individualism runs stronger in Republican circles,” Stutzman said.
Republican officials, he continued, should “speak out and encourage the vaccine,” which could help mitigate some of the reported hesitancy.
“This is an issue for those who are elected to provide good public service and be part of the social contract that should be promised regardless of party to defeat the virus,” Stutzman said. “Which means the shot in your arm isn’t just about yourself, but about saving someone else.”
