Oblivious or sociopathic? Or something else?

It's getting angry out here. Those of us who are vaccinated are losing patience with folks who could get their coronavirus shots -- and don't. We've had a couple rounds in our extended family; stubborn vaccine refusals almost derailed a family gathering planned for a year in one case -- and in another instance interfered with end-of-life care arrangements for a friend.

This is not hypothetical -- I vacillate between being rendered speechless that people I know should be so unconscious of any obligation to the communities in which they live -- and convinced I'm encountering individual sociopathy.

Paul Krugman, the caustic economist, lays out my feelings exactly.

To say what should be obvious, getting vaccinated and wearing a mask in public spaces aren’t “personal choices.” When you reject your shots or refuse to mask up, you’re increasing my risk of catching a potentially deadly or disabling disease, and also helping to perpetuate the social and economic costs of the pandemic. In a very real sense, the irresponsible minority is depriving the rest of us of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Furthermore, to say something that should also be obvious, those claiming that their opposition to public health measures is about protecting “freedom” aren’t being honest.

Andy Slavitt is an experienced fixer. In 2013, when the Obamacare website rolled out and crashed, he came along and knocked things into shape. He ended up head of Medicare/Medicaid in the federal health bureaucracy and then served as an advisor to the Biden White House on COVID response.  Now he's trying to help all of us cool down. What follows is a lightly edited Twitter thread.

COVID Update: Anti-vaxxers on Twitter/Facebook are a whole different breed from people who haven’t been vaccinated in real life. ...

As with many things, people on these platforms who spew garbage are worth ignoring.

People who have concerns about being vaccinated are well worth listening to.

People with anti-vax messages on social media have more in common with people who spread political misinformation than they do with people who have real concerns about vaccines. ...

-They use “it makes you think” type logic. (“Nine people in the hospital with tremors. Makes you think”)

-Because the mission is only to plant doubt among people already unsure or who have questions, they aim to “just clear the bar” so they avoid radical sounding claims

-They tap into pre-existing beliefs about government tyranny & pharma profits to suggest motives

... These are the exact same techniques used pre- and post-election. It’s a playbook of manipulation, not people who have serious doubts.

If you told me 90% of the major anti-vax messengers had all gotten safely vaccinated themselves, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.

... Fortunately that behavior doesn’t represent the people who aren’t vaccinated. ...

People who aren’t vaccinated largely speaking fall into 2 categories:

-One, they have questions or concerns about the vaccine
-Two, they aren’t paying much attention or aren’t motivated one way or another

In category 1, many of these people are routinely vaccinated & vaccinate their kids. Their questions are about the COVID vaccine.

Commonly— Long term side effects? Impact on fertility? Rushed process? Change your DNA? Cause COVID?

People who are vaccinated or unvaccinated cluster in communities. So they know people with the same questions. Many don’t have a regular doctor to ask questions to. Rumors spread easily.

Sometimes these are just low level concerns. They are in the “I’d rather not” category & when cases dropped this spring, any of these concerns exceeded the risk they felt from COVID.

With Delta, a number of them are rethinking. FDA approval next week will move even more.

It’s safe to say at a minimum this group— who skew non-college educated, skew white (& yes Republican)— doesn’t trust messages from the government. 

Local voices matter more— employers, doctors, clergy, small business. Many don’t trust the health care system, including many people of color & even nurses!

The other group generally speaking doesn’t see COVID as much of a threat.

Only 40% of those 18-25 have been vaccinated. Above 25, close to 3 in 4 have.  Much of this group say they would get vaccinated if required by school or jobs. Some who work hourly jobs don’t have easy enough access.

We should have all kinds of time to understand these groups & help them get their questions answered. Antagonizing or shaming people isn’t a great way to treat people & it doesn’t abate the propaganda, it actually aids it.

It’s also important that while they’ve chosen to remain unvaccinated, we protect people who can’t be inoculated.

I’ve had to show my vax card or a negative test 3 times this week (in California) & if unvaxxed people aren’t thrilled, that’s OK.

About 25 million people say they would get vaxxed if work, school or venues required it. They are looking for the nudge to settle their uncertainty.

Others of course will strenuously object. A reasonable discourse on this question would be better than more social media fights.People are getting increasingly pushed into camps. Pro or anti— but that’s not how most people approach a complex question like this.

... But those who want to reduce the toll of the pandemic should ignore, not enable these trolls & try to get back to the things we do in real life like listening & talking to each other. /end

I'm still mad -- but Slavitt is right.