MSNBC host Joy Reid attempts to convince guest to get vaccinated
Some 42% of unvaccinated Americans reported that they “don’t trust the COVID-19 vaccine," a recent survey shows.
On her MSNBC program, The ReidOut, host Joy Reid and several doctors tried to convince a guest to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“About 15% of all U.S. adults remain unflinchingly unvaccinated,” Reid said. “Who are those people, and what will it take to move them? Well, you know many of them. They’re not all Trump supporters, they’re your friends, relatives, even your kids, and these days it feels like we are talking past each other.”
Reid added that in this episode, she was trying something different.
Per Mediaite, Reid introduced Evelyn Aniton McDowell—an unvaccinated educator at a private university and Dr. Kavita Patel, an MSNBC medical contributor.
“I am unvaccinated because I actually caught Covid twice. I had it once in March of 2020. I had it again in November of 2020. This is all before the vaccination,” McDowell said. “I was sick the first time and quickly — not quickly, it took me 65 days to get a negative test — and then when I got it the second time, I quickly got over it.”
“Within two weeks I tested negative,” McDowell added. “Then, I’ve been tested for antibodies, and so, I’ve been tested twice for antibodies — actually three times. The most recent was November, and my antibody levels were very high. And so, if the vaccine is meant to get my body ready, to get my immune system ready to fight Covid, well, natural immunity has done that for me.”
Reid pointed out that despite natural immunity, McDowell did contract the virus a second time, while McDowell countered that even vaccinated people can contract COVID-19.
Dr. Patel explained that vaccination, coupled with McDowell’s natural antibodies, would be better protection against not just the omicron variant, but future potential variants.
Additionally, Reid shared videos of health care professionals noting that they are overwhelmed with COVID patients who are largely unvaccinated. She asked McDowell if she empathized with them; McDowell said she did, adding that she’s not against vaccination, “And had I not had Covid twice, maybe — I’m sure I probably would have taken the vaccine.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 15% of Americans who are not vaccinated reported that there are four primary reasons that they remain unvaccinated. Nearly half reported that they were concerned about possible side effects, and 42% reported that they “don’t trust the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Additionally, less than 10% said it was because their doctor hadn’t recommended it, while only 2% said they weren’t vaccinated because it was hard to obtain.
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