GOP's vaccination skeptics 'troubling,' Hutchinson says

Governor Asa Hutchinson receives his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Department of Health in Little Rock on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)
Governor Asa Hutchinson receives his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Department of Health in Little Rock on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

WASHINGTON -- Arkansas' covid-19 vaccination efforts face "troubling" resistance from some of his fellow Republicans, particularly younger people, Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday morning.

A new CBS News poll highlighted during the broadcast reflected a sharp partisan divide, with 33% of Republicans nationwide saying they won't get vaccinated; 47% of Republicans said they have already received the shot or plan to do so; and 20% were undecided.

Partisan opposition was particularly high among voters younger than 65, CBS News Elections & Surveys Director Anthony Salvanto said.

Only 10% of Democrats and 23% of independents told pollsters they wouldn't get vaccinated. But 71% of Democrats and 51% of independents plan to get vaccinated or have already done so; 19% of Democrats and 25% of independents were undecided.

Asked whether the figures reflect what he has observed, Hutchinson said, "We are seeing that problem and the poll numbers are troubling."

"In Arkansas, it's a very pro-Trump state in terms of the last election, and so we see that resistance," he added.

The CBS News survey of 2,382 U.S. residents, conducted Wednesday through Saturday, had a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

Among Republicans ages 65 and older, a majority have already been vaccinated, the survey showed.

Younger Republicans, particularly those under age 45, were more likely to question the vaccination efforts, the poll showed.

Republican skepticism has complicated the Natural State's vaccine rollout efforts, Hutchinson told "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan.

Former President Donald Trump carried Arkansas with 62.4% of the vote, despite losing nationwide.

The electoral fault lines continue to affect the covid-19 response in Arkansas, Hutchinson suggested.

"Whenever we are opening up eligibility for the vaccine, we're moving through it very quickly because we're not having everybody sign up to take it," the governor said.

Hutchinson voiced hope that the skepticism would eventually fade.

"As more and more people get the vaccine, they see it's a way to get back to more normal life. They're excited about it, they're optimistic, so I see those numbers changing," Hutchinson said.

"Sometimes someone will not take the vaccine, saying, 'I just want to wait a little bit longer to make sure everything's OK.' We're encouraging them not to do that. When it's your turn, take the vaccine. But at the same time, we're going to move through the eligibility and then we're going to have to come back and catch up," he said.

"We'll probably be at a 50% rate. We need to get up to a 70 to 80% acceptance rate," he said.

Given the stiff resistance to vaccinations, "Why would you consider lifting the mask mandate at the end of the month," Brennan asked Hutchinson.

The governor said he would prefer voluntary compliance.

"We need to continue to wear a mask [and] socially distance until we get the vaccine widely accepted. But you could do that two ways. One is by a mandate. Or you could do it by ...[encouraging] common sense," he said.

"We want to see what our testing, [what] our cases look like, our hospitalizations, positivity rate look like toward the end of the month, and we'll make a decision whether we can lift the mask mandate and turn it into guidance and common sense, as we said. I think the time in this pandemic for heavy-handed restrictions and mandates are going by the wayside, so people can make good judgments and we expect that to happen even after March 31, if the mask mandate is lifted," he said.

In an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Michael John Gray said Hutchinson and other Republicans have been reluctant to confront the anti-vaccine "extremists" within the party.

"There's a real failure among the Republican leaders in being honest with their constituents," he said. "The governor's trying to keep his foot in both camps of the Republican Party and you can't do it. That is the problem we're seeing."

During Sunday's televised interview, Brennan noted that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Thursday, includes roughly $4 billion for Arkansas state and local governments as well as public schools.

"Isn't this good for your state?" Brennan asked.

The measure, which provides billions of dollars in additional payments and tax credits to individual Arkansans, became law despite facing unanimous Republican opposition on Capitol Hill.

"Well, there's many good parts of the bill, and that's important to remember," Hutchinson said.

Nonetheless, the overall package is "just simply too large," he said.

Gray portrayed the American Rescue Plan as a landmark piece of legislation, providing "the kind of direct relief that we have not seen for the working class ... maybe since FDR."

Hutchinson, who serves as vice chairman of the National Governors Association, had urged Biden to craft a smaller package. Last month, Hutchinson and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the association's chairman, were among a group of leaders who met with Biden in the Oval Office.

Since then, Cuomo has been accused of misconduct by a number of women; as a result, many New York Democrats are now calling for his resignation.

Asked by Brennan to weigh in on Cuomo's situation, Hutchinson said, the allegations need to be taken seriously. The women stepping forward "have credibility. They need to be heard," he said.

Under National Governors Association rules, the chairmanship alternates between Republicans and Democrats. Since Cuomo was "selected by the Democrats" to lead the group, "that's within their bailiwick to deal with that issue and the people of New York."

Hutchinson, a former Department of Homeland Security undersecretary in charge of border and transportation security issues, was also asked about the Biden's handling of thousands of unaccompanied minors along the southern border with Mexico.

Brennan asked whether the U.S. needs to "send them back or keep them here as the Biden administration is doing."

"You've got to have a stricter border policy or it's going to be a humanitarian crisis that will continue throughout this year," he said.

This was Hutchinson's second appearance this year on "Face the Nation"; he was also a guest in January. Over the past four months, Hutchinson has also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," ABC's "This Week," CNN's "State of the Union" and "Fox News Sunday."

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