There is evidence from vaccines.gov, where people check the availability of vaccination sites by zip code, that there is an increased interest in vaccination” after the announcement on the mask mandate was made. This shows incentives matter,” people need a carrot and the carrot, in this case, was to drop the mask in most areas said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine. “
Many Americans Flock To Vaccine Sites Again
The decision that CDC made was not meant as an incentive to get people vaccinated, but could have an indirect effect of getting people vaccinated.” Dr Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s Chief Medical Adviser, said a few hours after Walensky’s announcement.
There was a decrease in the number of vaccinations until Walensky made the announcement that.”Anyone who is fully vaccinated could participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” This changed the situation at vaccination sites. Within minutes usually, the vaccination numbers go down at some point in the day, but on that day, they increased.
President Biden tweeted, saying that the rules are simple, you get vaccinated or wear a mask till you do. The prerogative to make that choice is yours. The vaccination numbers kept increasing and hit a peak around 4 pm.
Shortly after Biden’s speech and tweet, vaccines.gov saw its second-highest peak ever of over 40,000 visitors .this is the highest since the site launched on April 30. The highest peak was on May 4, following a publicity campaign for the site’s launch. ,” Brownstein said
That day turned out to be the busiest yet for the website, witnessing a spike in interest.
The CDC announcement, and the subsequent presidential speech and tweet, were responsible for the increase, Brownstein said.
The spike in usage on vaccines.gov right at that moment informs us that relaxing certain restrictions resulted in some people’s decision to get the vaccine,” Brownstein said.
After an increase in the website visits, actual vaccinations also went up. However, it’s not clear what role the mask announcement played in the increase in vaccinations.
Adding that group of young people increased the number of people getting vaccinated, but an analysis of the data suggests vaccination rates improved for older age groups, too.
Vaccinations of Americans aged 16 and older were on a continuous decline since early April, hitting a 7-day average of about 546,000 from the lowest point in months. On May 22.then they went back up again, hitting an average of over 599,000 first doses. However, some Americans have become cynical about pronouncements from government officials and scientists. On May 13, there was a change in mask guidance that resonated with at least a subset of the population,
Public health officials felt it was an important lesson since there were still many Americans who needed vaccinations. For some Americans, lotteries and other incentives will work, and while others are still thinking which way is best, this mask guidance convinced some. Reiner agreed, noting that some prefer the carrot to the stick. Reiner said he has tried talking to young people and getting them to focus on the fact that about 500 Americans are still dying of covid daily. However, no 18 years old think they are going to die from anything like that. However, the mask guidance has resonated with them. He said he hopes public health leaders will remember the carrot approach.
“I do think the CDC should have this talk frequently. In the past, it was just doom and gloom, but what this data shows is when you give the public some positive reinforcement, it really can bear fruit.”
