Although the share of Americans who say they will get a coronavirus vaccine is increasing, 27% of the public is still hesitant to do so, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released on Tuesday.
However, the 71% of Americans who say they will definitely or probably get the vaccine is up from 63% in September, when concerns about politicizing the vaccine before the election were at their height.
Other results from the poll include:
- Hesitancy about the vaccine is highest among Republicans (42%), those ages 30-49 (36%), and rural residents (35%).
- Among Black adults, 35% say they definitely or probably will not get vaccinated, as do 33% of those who are considered essential workers, and 29% of those whose job is in a health care delivery setting.
- The main reasons cited for hesitancy in getting the vaccine are concerns about possible side effects (59%), lack of trust in the government to ensure its safety and effectiveness (55%), worries that the vaccine is too new (53%), and concerns over the role of politics in the development process (51%).
Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman speculated that “Many who are hesitant are in wait-and-see mode, and their concerns include worries about side effects and whether the vaccine can cause COVID-19, which may dissipate as people get more information and see the vaccine introduced successfully among people they know.”
The survey was conducted between November 30 and December 8 among a nationally representative random digit dial telephone sample of 1,676 adults (including 298 Hispanic adults and 390 non-Hispanic Black adults), living in the U.S. The margin of sampling error, including the design effect for the full sample, is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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