Emerald Robinson, White House correspondent for the pro-Trump television network Newsmax, tweeted this month that people don’t need vaccines, but “the politicians want it for control.” The Gateway Pundit, a pro-Trump news organization that has prompted untrue conspiracy theories, called the prospect of widespread immunizations “creepy.” Senate Republicans allowed a Covid vaccine skeptic to testify last week, and Fox News host Tucker Carlson called the possibility of mandatory Covid vaccination — even though no such dictate is on the table — “a legitimate crisis.”

“You know, Trump, probably 80 percent of your base does not want that vaccine,” said DeAnna Lorraine, a high-profile influencer among the QAnon set, during her Infowars program last week. “They are not willing to take a foreign, rushed substance and jab it into our arms. I don’t care who takes it. I don’t care if Jesus takes it, I’m not taking the vaccine.”…

“The people that are worried about the vaccine because of side effects will be reassured as they see people get vaccinated and as more data comes out showing that the vaccine is safe,” said Melanie Kornides, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing who studies vaccine hesitancy. “But the people that don’t believe that a certain political party has their best interests at heart are going to be difficult to convince otherwise.”