Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci Appeals To Trump As Alarm Grows Over Partisan Vaccine Divide
New York Post: Fauci: Trump COVID Vaccine Endorsement Would Be 'Game-Changer'
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that it would be a “game-changer” for President Trump to encourage his supporters to get the jab — after a poll found many GOP voters indicated that they’re reluctant. “I think it would make all the difference in the world. He’s a very wildly popular person among Republicans,” Fauci told anchor Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” (Salo, 3/14)
The Washington Post: Anthony Fauci Says Trump Should Urge His Supporters To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine
An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll released last week showed that nearly half of Republican men and 47 percent of those who supported Trump in the 2020 election said they would not choose to be vaccinated, even if the coronavirus vaccines were made available to them. By contrast, only 10 percent of supporters of President Biden said they would not choose to be vaccinated if offered one, the poll found. [Dr. Anthony] Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the poll results “so disturbing” when presented with them Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” (Wang, 3/14)
Reuters: Fauci Hopes Trump Will Push His Supporters To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Trump told attendees at a conservative conference last month to get vaccinated - saying, “everybody, go get your shot” - the first time he had encouraged people to do so. Fauci said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program: “How such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to get vaccinated merely because of political considerations ... it makes absolutely no sense,” Fauci said. (3/14)
In related news —
Axios: 25% Of House Not Vaccinated As Some Members Refuse To Get Shot
Uncertainty about why only 75% of the House is confirmed as vaccinated against the coronavirus is fueling a debate about when the chamber can return to its normal rules of operation. The other 25% of members have either refused to get the vaccine, have not reported getting it at home or are avoiding it because of medical conditions. Until the Office of Attending Physician is clear about this, it can't make recommendations "regarding the modification or relaxation of existing social distancing guidelines." (Goba, 3/14)
Axios: Concern About Republican Coronavirus Vaccine Hesitancy Is Growing
Polling and public officials are increasingly sounding the alarm about one group of Americans that remains stubbornly resistant to the idea of receiving a coronavirus vaccine: Republicans. Vaccine enthusiasm has increased over the last few months, but a giant partisan gap remains. Nearly half of Republican men — 49% — say they won't choose to be vaccinated if a vaccine is available to them, according to a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. (Owens, 3/15)
NBC News: How Biden, Republicans And Public Health Leaders Are Trying To Persuade GOP Skeptics To Get Their Covid Vaccinations
Vaccine holdouts could end up being the last obstacle to defeating the pandemic, and a growing effort is aimed at convincing one substantial group of skeptics: Republicans. While efforts to combat vaccine hesitancy and access have so far been mostly focused on African Americans and Latinos, recent polls suggest the largest group of Americans either hesitant about the Covid-19 vaccine or outright opposed to it are Republicans, and efforts to reach them are only in their infancy. (Smith and Seitz-Wald, 3/14)
