I and everyone in my extended family who is eligible are now vaccinated from COVID-19. Unfortunately, that statement can't be made for about half the country -- leaving us well short of the 80%+ vaccination rates needed to achieve herd immunity and finally put this pandemic behind us.

More concerning are the signs of vaccine hesitancy, most discernibly along political lines. A map of the United States by COVID vaccination rates looks eerily similar to the electoral map of the 2020 election. The 5 states with the lowest vaccination rates (all below 36%) -- Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Wyoming and Idaho -- voted for Trump by an average margin of 27%. The 5 states with the highest vaccination rates (all above 60%) -- Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Connecticut -- voted for Biden by an average margin of 25%.

If you live in a blue state, 53% of your population, on average, has received a first dose of the vaccine. If you live in a red state, that percentage drops to 40%. Many other factors -- including income, education levels, accessibility in rural areas, etc. -- may explain this disparity, but politics is clearly a leading reason. Democrats are more than twice as likely as Republicans to have received the vaccine, and 45% of Republicans say they don't want to be vaccinated. Why? When did vaccination (or, for that matter, mask wearing) become so politicized?

If we are ever to reach the end of this pandemic, the question now is: how do we get the roughly 100 million people who still need to be vaccinated actually to get the vaccine? I'm not sure speeches by President Biden or public service announcements by the CDC, well intentioned as they may be, are going to get us there. So how do we convince the skeptics?

Republican Leadership -- Early in the pandemic, the development of a vaccine was heralded by Republican leaders as our best hope. We now need Republican governors and other elected officials to become more vocal advocates for vaccination. To de-politicize vaccination among their party and stand up as leaders. Once again, the moment is begging for Republican leadership. Of course, we saw where that got Liz Cheney.

Legal Mandate -- We can't require every citizen to get vaccinated, since some may have medical reasons or religious objections (and we don't need 100% anyway). But we certainly can require vaccinations by law in order to attend schools or even businesses. It's not as if legally mandated vaccination doesn't already happen in conservative states. Mississippi, the state with the lowest rate of first-dose COVID vaccinations, requires, by law, the exact same vaccinations for school children that California does -- chicken pox, diphtheria, haemophilus influenzae Type B (bacterial meningitis), hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, and tetanus. Though the COVID vaccine is not yet approved for children under 12, one hopes that mandatory COVID vaccinations will become as routine and (mostly) non-controversial as the others on this list.

Greater Personal Freedom -- Ultimately, perhaps the most effective way to get people vaccinated is to grant them greater personal freedom in return. Since my vaccination, nobody has asked to see my vaccination card to be relieved of COVID restrictions. The private sector could fill in where state and local governments have failed. Don't want to wear a mask indoors? Show us your vaccination card. Want to go to dinner, or a movie, or the shopping mall? Show us your vaccination card. Want to catch a flight, go to church, or attend a concert? Show us your vaccination card. If vaccinations were required to attend an SEC football game this fall, we'd probably reach the 80% vaccination threshold by September.

Of course, it's probably optimistic to think any of the above suggestions will happen. Hopefully, gradually, skepticism will decrease, conspiracy theories will subside, and more people will get vaccinated. Hopefully, the benefits of personal safety, family interactions and business recovery will overshadow political entrenchment. At least, that’s the hope. In the meantime, if you or your eligible family members are unvaccinated, please get the vaccine.

Vaccination Nation