Democrats, on coronavirus vaccine, emerge as sheep

OPINION:

A new poll from ABC News/Washington Post found 71% of Americans would either definitely or probably take a vaccine against the coronavirus — but that group is comprised mostly of Democrats. By and large, conservatives, Republicans and Christians said they’d refuse.

The takeaway? Baa-baa. Much as Democrats like to flash their degrees and present themselves as the intelligent scholars of the crowd while mocking conservatives as backwoods hayseeds, when it comes to a vaccine for the coronavirus, they’re all sheep.

Science, long-standing medical practice and government policy dictate a vaccine — any vaccine — takes between 10 and 15 years to develop for safe, effective consumer use.

“Vaccine development is a long, complex process, often lasting 10-15 years and involving a combination of public and private involvement,” wrote HistoryOfVaccines.org, an educational website from The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, explains the process for vaccine approval as similarly lengthy and complicated, involving several processes and phases — all aimed at ensuring patient safety, some which continue even after licensing is granted.

“[M]any vaccines,” CDC wrote, “undergo Phase IV formal, ongoing studies after the vaccine is approved and licensed.”

Beware.

This COVID-19 rush to shot by December, or January at the latest, is about as safe as picking a syringe off the street, washing it with warm water and expecting all the germs to magically disappear. It’s one thing to be a sheep. It’s another thing entirely to be a lab rat.

Here are the numbers from this survey: Fully 27% of adult respondents said they either definitely or probably would not get the vaccine. That leaves 43% who said they definitely would get vaccinated; 28% who said they probably would.

Republican women, to the tune of 46%, said no way, no how they’ll take the shot. On top of that, 45% who self-identified as very conservative, 40% who self-identified as Republicans and 37% of evangelical Christians said no to the vaccination.

Democrats are a different breed.

“Across the spectrum,” ABC News wrote, “90% of Democratic men say they definitely or probably would get the vaccine, as would 81% of Democrats overall.”

Baah. Baaah. Go for it, Dems.

Conservatives don’t mind waiting to see the results.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.