shot calling

One-third of Texans will avoid the COVID-19 vaccine, new study finds

H-E-B woman getting covid-19 vaccine shot healthcare worker

Politics, gender, and education play a part in why Texans are declining the vaccine.

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Houstonians are swarming to COVID-19 mega-vaccination sites in desperate effort to be inoculated against the scourge of coronavirus. However, a significant portion of their Lone Star State neighbors have no such intention, a new study finds.

Some one-third of Texans say they are unlikely to be immunized against COVID-19, according to a nationwide survey by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs. The study (see the full report here) also finds that more than 40 percent of Texans say they are certain to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a press release.

A significant number of Texans — more than one out of five or 22 percent — say they definitely will not accept a vaccine.

For some perspective, Texas has reported more than 2.4 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 37,000 deaths since the pandemic began last year.

Experts estimate between 70 percent and 90 percent of the population must be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity. Approximately 3 percent of Texans responding to the Hobby School survey reported that they already had received at least the first shot in the two-shot immunization process, per a press release.

So why are Texans reticent about getting vaccinated?

“More than 60 percent of people who are hesitant to be immunized had concerns about potential side effects and worried that the vaccine is too new,” Kirk P. Watson, founding dean of the Hobby School, said in a statement. “Understanding why people resist immunization is an important step in reaching herd immunity.”

Some of the trepidation can even be linked to gender, education, and even politics, the study finds. Women and those without a four-year degree were substantially more likely to say they will not get a vaccine, the survey notes. The survey didn’t reveal dramatic variations among racial and ethnic groups.

“And we found that Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to report they definitely will be vaccinated against COVID, at 53 percent vs. 33 percent respectively,” said Mark P. Jones, a Hobby School senior research associate. “Republicans are more than twice as likely to say they definitely will not get vaccinated, at 28 percent compared with 11 percent of Democrats.”

Among other findings, per a press release:

38 percent said they definitely will get the shot, while another 18 percent said they probably will.
22 percent said they definitely will not be immunized; another 10 percent said they probably will not. 9 percent said they have not decided.
African Americans reported greater uncertainty about the vaccine, with 15 percent saying they are undecided and 48 percent reporting they have already received it or definitely or probably will get it.
10 percent of Latinos and 7 percent of Anglos are undecided, while 60 percent of Latinos and 59 percent of Anglos said they already have received it or definitely or probably will.
66 percent of those who definitely or probably will not get the vaccine are worried about side effects; 65 percent said the vaccine is too new and they prefer to wait. 44 percent said the risks of Covid-19 have been exaggerated.
58 percent of those resisting the vaccine say they don’t trust the government to ensure it is safe; 57 percent say the same about pharmaceutical companies.

To conduct the survey, the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston offered an online survey among Texans 18 and older from January 12-20. Some 1,329 residents responded, resulting in a confidence interval of +/-2.7. Respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, ethnicity/race, and education, and are representative of the Texas adult population, according to UH.

reports health

bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.