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Eye On Illinois: Vaccine aversion a tough sell on campaign trail

Are you vaccinated against COVID-19?

That question isn’t for you, the reader, unless you’re interested in sharing personal medical information. But keeping details private often is incompatible with a quest for public office, as a few folks running for governor experienced this week.

For the public, broad data is plenty useful. Hence the tracker on the Shaw Media website that provides ZIP code-level data: the raw number of people fully vaccinated as well as a percentage of estimated population based on the 2019 American Community Survey. The numbers come from vaccine providers, who provide patient ZIP code to a state registry.

But for political candidates, direct questions are appropriate. Personal choices can have public ramifications, in policy or direct influence on individual lives. Politicians have long been asked (or otherwise forthcoming) about use of drugs and alcohol. We don’t ask candidates if they wear seatbelts or text while driving or wash their hands after using the restroom, but the pandemic is unquestionably the issue of the day and anyone aspiring to lead the state most certainly must be open about their opinions on vaccines, masking requirements and other measures taken to keep people safe.

It’s unlikely these questions caught candidates off guard. Gov. JB Pritzker leaned into his COVID response in his initial re-election advertising, and everyone challenging him has to some degree questioned the governor’s conduct in that specific arena, if not made it the outright center of the campaign. Even those yet mulling a run for office realize pandemic mitigation will be a core topic until election day next fall.

Without rehashing individual responses and skirmishes with media outlets, it’s enough to reason that what we’re hearing from candidates seems to be sincere reflections of personal beliefs, not purely calculated messaging. So rather than questioning underlying logic, let’s examine political implications.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 74.1% of the voting-age population (almost 7.3 million) has at least one vaccine dose while 58.5% (about 5.76 million) are fully vaccinated. There are more than 8 million registered voters in Illinois, but only about 4.3 million went to the polls in 2018.

While it’s difficult to break out the number of vaccinated teenagers who may be voting age by November 2022, it’s worth noting more than 75% of Illinoisans 65 and older – a reliable voting bloc – are fully vaccinated. The ZIP code tracker shows several dozen communities with vaccine rates exceeding 60% and a couple in the low 70s, but the color-coding doesn’t directly correlate to the typical red-blue electoral maps.

Being vaccinated isn’t a political statement. Debating mandates is a different conversation. But outright vaccine aversion seemingly lacks majority appeal, so expect campaigns to message accordingly.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.

Scott Holland

Scott T. Holland

Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media Illinois. Follow him on Twitter at @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.