Rural Tennessee’s Vaccine Hesitators

<p>Vaccine hesitancy is a major reason that many experts now fear the United States will struggle to attain herd immunity against the coronavirus.</p><p>And while many initially hesitant demographics have become more open to vaccinations, one group is shifting much less: white Republican evangelical Christians, who tend to live in rural communities.</p><p>Here’s what that looks like in Greeneville, Tenn.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/jan-hoffman?smid=pc-thedaily">Jan Hoffman</a>, a reporter covering behavioral health and health law for The New York Times.  </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Reluctance to get vaccinated is widespread in white, Republican communities like this one in Appalachia. But it’s far more complicated than just a partisan divide. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/30/health/covid-vaccine-hesitancy-white-republican.html?smid=pc-thedaily">Read Jan’s reporting here</a>. </li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>