Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South

Approximately 40% of Tennesseans are vaccinated fully, due mainly to higher vaccination levels within urban counties. Significantly lower rates are observed in rural counties. Surveys suggest COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is entrenched mostly among individuals identifying as white, rural, Republican, a...

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Autor principal:	Donald J. Alcendor
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	COVID-19 Tennessee rural urban vaccine hesitancy vaccination rate Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/de192202d4ed41e982f83060ed4ad65a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:de192202d4ed41e982f83060ed4ad65a2021-11-25T19:10:53ZTargeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South10.3390/vaccines91112792076-393Xhttps://doaj.org/article/de192202d4ed41e982f83060ed4ad65a2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/11/1279https://doaj.org/toc/2076-393XApproximately 40% of Tennesseans are vaccinated fully, due mainly to higher vaccination levels within urban counties. Significantly lower rates are observed in rural counties. Surveys suggest COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is entrenched mostly among individuals identifying as white, rural, Republican, and evangelical Christian. Rural counties represent 70 of the total 95 counties in Tennessee, and vaccine hesitancy signifies an immediate public health crisis likely to extend the COVID-19 pandemic. Tennessee is a microcosm of the pandemic’s condition in the Southern U.S. Unvaccinated communities are the greatest contributors of new COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. Rural Tennesseans have a long history of cultural conservatism, poor health literacy, and distrust of government and medical establishments and are more susceptible to misinformation and conspiracy theories. Development of novel strategies to increase vaccine acceptance is essential. Here, I examine the basis of COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection and summarize the pandemic’s extent in the South, current vaccination rates and efforts across Tennessee, and underlying factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Finally, I discuss specific strategies to combat COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We must develop novel strategies that go beyond financial incentives, proven ineffective toward vaccinations. Successful strategies for vaccine acceptance of rural Tennesseans could increase acceptance among unvaccinated rural U.S. populations.Donald J. AlcendorMDPI AGarticleCOVID-19Tennesseeruralurbanvaccine hesitancyvaccination rateMedicineRENVaccines, Vol 9, Iss 1279, p 1279 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	COVID-19 Tennessee rural urban vaccine hesitancy vaccination rate Medicine R
spellingShingle	COVID-19 Tennessee rural urban vaccine hesitancy vaccination rate Medicine R Donald J. Alcendor Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South
description	Approximately 40% of Tennesseans are vaccinated fully, due mainly to higher vaccination levels within urban counties. Significantly lower rates are observed in rural counties. Surveys suggest COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is entrenched mostly among individuals identifying as white, rural, Republican, and evangelical Christian. Rural counties represent 70 of the total 95 counties in Tennessee, and vaccine hesitancy signifies an immediate public health crisis likely to extend the COVID-19 pandemic. Tennessee is a microcosm of the pandemic’s condition in the Southern U.S. Unvaccinated communities are the greatest contributors of new COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. Rural Tennesseans have a long history of cultural conservatism, poor health literacy, and distrust of government and medical establishments and are more susceptible to misinformation and conspiracy theories. Development of novel strategies to increase vaccine acceptance is essential. Here, I examine the basis of COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection and summarize the pandemic’s extent in the South, current vaccination rates and efforts across Tennessee, and underlying factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Finally, I discuss specific strategies to combat COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. We must develop novel strategies that go beyond financial incentives, proven ineffective toward vaccinations. Successful strategies for vaccine acceptance of rural Tennesseans could increase acceptance among unvaccinated rural U.S. populations.
format	article
author	Donald J. Alcendor
author_facet	Donald J. Alcendor
author_sort	Donald J. Alcendor
title	Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South
title_short	Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South
title_full	Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South
title_fullStr	Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South
title_full_unstemmed	Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South
title_sort	targeting covid vaccine hesitancy in rural communities in tennessee: implications for extending the covid-19 pandemic in the south
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/de192202d4ed41e982f83060ed4ad65a
work_keys_str_mv	AT donaldjalcendor targetingcovidvaccinehesitancyinruralcommunitiesintennesseeimplicationsforextendingthecovid19pandemicinthesouth
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Targeting COVID Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Tennessee: Implications for Extending the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South

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