Quote (theCrossbones @ 2 Sep 2021 02:00)
Opinion? How much of this VAX resistance is based on the Trump cult resistance?
Personally I think its 85%+\-
And the country would be so much farther in the virus battle.
Nah, not nearly. In many European countries, for example France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands or Austria, the vaccination campaigns really stalled once the rate approached about 60%. France and Italy have gotten it going again by imposing pretty strict rules which make a vaccination almost mandatory to participate in social life. Even in the UK, the rate is currently only about 63% and going up very slowly.
So I would say across Europe, the share of inoculation-willing people ranges from 60ish to 70ish percent of the population. In the US, the rate stalled at around 50%. So Trump's covid rhetoric plus the higher share of religious nutjobs in your country (compared with Europe) seems to make a difference of about 10% in terms of the vaccination rate. So Trump is to blame for perhaps 8 percentage points of a gap in the vax rate.
The area in which he bears much greater responsibility is masks and taking covid seriously in the first place. That he politicized the issue is his biggest sin surrounding covid. In this regard, he of course had a huge effect - much bigger than his contribution to the disappointing vaccine uptake if you ask me.