Vaccine demand in the United States was well below supply. Some states refuse new shipments altogether, as the drug goes to waste.
As previously reported by News Front, in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the American authorities took the path of national selfishness. They began stockpiling vaccines in the United States, limiting poorer countries’ access to life-saving drugs. But such a policy was hampered by extremely low demand for the vaccine among Americans.
Louisiana, for example, has already stopped asking the federal government for the full amount of COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly three-quarters of Kansas counties have turned down new vaccine shipments at least once in the past month. And in Mississippi, officials have asked the federal government to ship ampoules in small packages so they don’t go to waste.
“Some people just don’t want to”, – Stacey Heilman, a nurse with the health department in Decatur County, Kansas, told The Associated Press.
American skepticism about vaccines is attributed, in part, to dangerous side effects. Recently, the country’s authorities have suspended the use of the drug Johnson & Johnson, as it provokes blood clots. Problems were also observed after the use of the Pfizer vaccine, which had a detrimental effect on the health of allergy sufferers.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that many poor countries still cannot get vaccines at all, when in the United States the drug goes to waste. For example, in a small Mississippi town, pharmacist Robin Jackson practically begged people to get vaccinated after the first batch of vaccine arrived.
“Nobody came”, – Jackson laments.
Barbara Jennero, a homemaker and mother of two young children from Yazu City, Mississippi, said everyone in her community is anti-vaccination. Jennero said she avoids vaccinations for her family altogether, and the coronavirus vaccine is no different.
“All the strong Christians I associate with are against”, – she said.
“Fear is what drives people to get vaccinated – plain and simple. The more someone believes in gentlemen, the less likely they are to want the vaccine or find it necessary”.
But in Mississippi, in addition to mistrust of vaccines, there is another problem. There are no major cities in this rural state, but vaccines are always supplied in large packages. State authorities have already approached Washington on this matter. They asked for vaccines to be sent in small packages so that they would not be wasted.
“If you are in New York and mailing a package to one of the major pharmacies in midtown Manhattan, literally millions and millions of people are within walking distance of that particular pharmacy. Well, if you live in the countryside of Itta Bena, Mississippi, that’s not at all the case”.
In such conditions, local authorities are forced to intensify advocacy work, writes Associated Press. In Louisiana, authorities have begun working with organizations and religious leaders to lure people into vaccination centers. For the same purpose, the local health department sent out more than 100,000 letters last Monday.
In New Mexico, state officials are exploring the possibility of recruiting community leaders from trusted local residents.