“‘Viruses do not vote. Viruses don’t care about voting.’”
That was Simon Schama, professor of history at Columbia University, in conversation with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski on the “Morning Joe” show on Monday.
Schama has published a new book called “Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations,” which examines the origins of the distrust of vaccines that persuaded many people not to be inoculated against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“Ultimately, it comes down to persuasion,” said Schama.
For more read: 5 things to know about the new COVID-19 vaccine
“Underneath this whole life-and-death subject, there’s an extraordinary paradox. On one hand, humans are capable of astonishing scientific investigation with the practical effect of saving lives. On the other hand, humans are also barely evolved creatures, basketfuls of paranoia, suspicion, conspiracy theories and cynicism, which manages to politicize public health.”
People who are prepared to try and gain political traction from delivering suspicions about vaccines “are a shocking problem,” said the London-born Schama, author of celebrated books on art history, French history, Jewish history and other subjects.
He cited as an example the campaign being run by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his handpicked state surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who are telling Floridians below the age of 65 not to get the new booster shots approved by and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration last week.
Ladapo “was someone who thought that hydroxychloroquine would be an effective prophylactic against COVID until it was debunked absolutely as being [of] no effect at all,” said Schama.
From the archives (March 2023): DeSantis state surgeon general Ladapo chastised by FDA and CDC
The academic lamented a recent poll that showed a “distressing” difference between attitudes of those identifying as Republicans and those identifying as Democrats toward the new boosters.
“It’s not actually a booster, it’s a new vaccine because the variants of omicron, of XBB, have enormously mutated, they behave in different ways, so natural immunity and an old booster will not help, and hospitalization cases are rising even as we speak.
“I’m getting my shot this afternoon,” he said Monday morning, “and I hope everyone else is, too.”
The Margin (November 2021): ‘Red COVID’? Coronavirus deaths are highest in counties with the largest share of Trump voters.
From the archives (March 2020): Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to think the coronavirus threat is ‘exaggerated,’ new survey finds
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