Thread by @PeterHotez

Many thanks ⁦@EricaRHill⁩ ⁦@JohnBerman⁩ for hosting me on ⁦@NewDay⁩ discussing a third poll result showing high #covid19 vaccination hesitancy among the Republican Party. How did we get to this place and what should we do? Here’s my thinking and approach

First, it’s history. In 2015 the antivaccine movement re-energized by linking to the Republican Tea Party, accelerating under a “health freedom” banner and the formation of antivax PACs in especially here in Texas, some other Western States

Then in 2020 what was an antivaccine movement expanded its remit to protests against masks and social distancing to become a full on antiscience movement, mostly in Red States. Defying masks, distancing, and Covid vaccines become linked to political allegiances to the Rs

This had deadly consequences for thousands during the Summer 2020 surge in US Southern States and in the Fall in the Midwest. Now even R members of the US Congress are refusing to get vaccinated

Important to remember this is new: Historically it was the Republicans who launched the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) under Lincoln, NASA under Eisenhower, PEPFAR PMI NTDs under W. But now this has derailed

We must find a way to decouple the antiscience agenda from the Republican Party. I’m doing what I can by speaking on. Conservative news outlets, and I’m happy to continue speaking with any and all members of the US Congress

We have no choice B.1.1.7 variant accelerating in Europe and now the US, P.1 in Latin America. I’m concerned