CDC Director Calls on Americans to ‘Take the Individual Responsibility to Get Vaccinated’

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky described receiving the coronavirus vaccine as an act of individual responsibility, urging Americans to get the shot when they are able to.

In an update this week, Walensky identified the U.K. variant B.1.1.7, which is more transmissible than the original strain, as having the “most common lineage circulating in the United States.”

“Testing remains an important strategy to rapidly identify and isolate infectious individuals including those with variants of concern,” she said, explaining the trends point to “two clear truths.”

“One, the virus still has hold on us, infecting people and putting them in harm’s way, and we need to remain vigilant,” she said, adding the U.S. must accelerate vaccination efforts and calling on Americans to “take the individual responsibility to get vaccinated when we can”:

While several states have opened up vaccine eligibility to all adults and others are quickly following suit, many Americans remain hesitant to receive the vaccine.

A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released last month showed 41 percent demonstrating an unwillingness to receive the vaccine.

As Breitbart News reported:

Vaccine rollout is continuing state by state, but a sizeable portion of American voters remain skeptical about receiving a vaccine for the coronavirus. While a majority, or 59 percent, are willing to receive the vaccination, 41 percent are not. Two-thirds of those who are not willing to receive the vaccine cited potential side effects as a concern, while one-third doubted the efficacy of the vaccines. Slightly over a quarter, or 27 percent, said they were not overly concerned by the virus, followed by 23 percent who said vaccines should be reserved for more vulnerable populations. Seventeen percent cited health concerns, according to the Hill.

Notably, fewer than half of likely voters consider a vaccine passport a “good idea.”

Over 168 million vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S., per the CDC’s April 6 data.