A national survey taken last week by Fox News showed that 58% of voters believed the COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective, down from 65% in September, the outlet reported Thursday.
The 7-point shift comes primarily from decreases among Democrats and independents. Still, far more Democrats, 76%, than independents, 49%, or Republicans, 45%, have faith in the shot.
Just 45% considered the vaccine safe for children ages 5 to 11, 38% said it was unsafe, and 16% were unsure. Voters were also split 48% for and 46% against schools requiring students to be vaccinated.
Some 49% favored President Joe Biden's plan to mandate vaccines or testing for staff of businesses with 100 or more employees, down from 56% in September.
The top issues mentioned for voters were the economy, 26%, followed by COVID-19, 17%, inflation, 10%, border security/immigration, 8%, political division, 7%, and Biden/poor leadership and climate change, both 6%.
The survey found 49% disapprove of Biden's handling of the pandemic, while 48% approve. In May and June, Biden was up 64%-34% regarding the same topic.
Unlike the Quinnipiac Poll showing 36% of voters approve of Biden's overall job performance and 53% disapprove, the Fox poll shows that 44% of voters approve of Biden's overall job performance, and 54% disapprove.
The poll was conducted Nov. 14-17 under the joint direction of Beacon Research and Shaw & Co. Research. The poll's results reflect interviews with 1,003 randomly selected registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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