CBS’ Dickerson Asks Fauci If Some People Are Vaccine-Hesitant Because They ‘Feel Insulted’ by Public Officials

CBS News’ John Dickerson spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci on Face the Nation Sunday and asked about the reasons many Americans are still vaccine-hesitant.

As of this posting, 55.5 percent of the U.S. population has at least one dose of the covid-19 vaccine, and 48 percent of the country is completely vaccinated. One problem facing the U.S. is the spread of the Delta variant and the risk of exposure to millions and millions of unvaccinated people.

Dickerson started by noting to Fauci that the variant “seems to be making the case for vaccination more clear than ever.”

“Is it that the facts are not getting to people, or is it the people delivering the message to those who are unvaccinated — that that needs to change?” he asked.

“I think maybe all of the above,” Fauci responded.

He said it’s “inexplicable” why so many people are either vaccine-hesitant or just outright refusing to get the lifesaving vaccines.

Fauci lamented that this has become an issue for ideological reasons, expressing dismay at people rallying against vaccines.

Dickerson then raised this question about the need to reach more people:

You say the facts are hitting people between the eyes. Is it possible that people are a little scared, a little nervous, and the more facts they hear, they don’t hear evidence, what they hear is ‘you’re a dummy for not getting this.’ And that, essentially, people feel insulted when the evidence is presented as if it should be clearly obvious to any normal person and that all that does is put them back in their corner.

“You have a point there,” Fauci remarked.

He said there’s a greater need for people to hear not from government officials like himself but trusted members of local communities, including doctors and religious leaders.

You can watch above, via CBS.