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Be honest that scientists don’t have all the answers. Tout the number of people who got the vaccines in trials. And don’t show pro-vaccine ads with politicians — not even ones with Donald Trump.

That’s what a focus group of vaccine-hesitant Trump voters insisted to politicians and pollsters this weekend, as public health leaders rush to win over the tens of millions of Republicans who say they don’t plan to get a coronavirus shot. If those voters follow through, it would imperil efforts to achieve the high levels of immunity needed to stop the virus’s spread in the United States, experts fear.

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Originally posted by Nina:

First, if you hate the government and think there's a conspiracy around every tree/bush, then there's no communication/education that you will accept.

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During the Zoom session, Republican politicians including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, took turns trying to persuade the hesitant voters to get vaccinated. But the lawmakers’ pitches largely fell flat, and in some cases, the politically tinged rhetoric seemed to inspire more doubts. For instance, McCarthy said he understood the Trump voters’ hesitation because pharmaceutical companies waited until after Trump lost the election to announce their promising vaccine results — a comment that sparked participants to share their own resentments.

“It was political stunts like that that leave doubt in our minds,” said a man identified as David from Texas.

But the focus group applauded Frieden — an appointee of President Barack Obama, a detail that went unmentioned — particularly after he rattled off “five facts” about the virus and the vaccines, such as the overwhelming share of doctors who have chosen to get vaccinated. Participants praised the former CDC chief for his apolitical bent and repeatedly cited arguments they said had changed their minds, like the tens of thousands of people who participated in coronavirus vaccine trials last year.

“The single fact that swayed me the most was Dr. Frieden’s comment … the long-term impacts of covid could be, [or] are worse than the impacts of the vaccine,” said a man identified as Peter from Missouri. Peter added that he went from “80 percent” opposed to the shot to “probably 75 percent” in favor after the session.

“His first points were, it’s been 20 years of research [to develop the vaccine]. It’s not just out of the blue,” said a man called Chad from Minnesota, who also praised Frieden for acknowledging that the long-term risks of the vaccines aren’t yet known. “He’s just honest with us and telling us, nothing is 100 percent here, people.”