One in four Americans said they would never get the coronavirus vaccine, according to a new national survey.
Republicans were the biggest resistant to the COVID-19 vaccine, with 42 percent saying they “will never get it,” according to a University of Monmouth poll released Wednesday.
A higher vaccination rate is crucial to achieving what scientists call herd immunity to the killer virus. Public health officials estimate that between 70% and 85% of people need to be immune to coronavirus before the disease fades.
The interviewer asked respondents, “Thinking about the Covid vaccine, do you plan to get the vaccine as soon as you are allowed, will you let other people get it first to see how it goes, or are you likely to never get the vaccine? can you avoid it? ”
Half of the respondents who had not been vaccinated said they would get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it became available.
Another 6 percent of citizens said they have already received a dose of the vaccine, bringing the pro-vax account to 56 percent.
Another 19 percent of respondents said they would rather let other people get the vaccine first and see how it goes.
But 24% of those surveyed said they are likely to never get the vaccine if they can avoid it.
Democrats were eager to get the vaccine as soon as possible: 72%, when those who have already received the sting are included. Only 10 percent of Dems said they would never be inoculated.
In comparison, only 51% of registered independents and 39% of Republicans are on board the vaccine.
More Republicans, 42 percent, said they would never avoid receiving the vaccine, outnumbering party members who would receive it.
About one in four Indians said they would never get it, reflecting the national average.
“Reluctance to get the vaccine is driven more by partisanship than by any demographic factor. It says a lot about the depth of our party division that could affect public health like this,” said Patrick Murray, a Monmouth pollster.
He noted that the survey was conducted ahead of the announcement that Johnson & Johnson would soon apply for emergency approval for its one-dose vaccine. Existing Pfizer / BioNtech and Moderna vaccines require two doses.
The survey grouped blacks, Hispanics, and Asians into a category compared to white respondents.
Overall, white Americans (58%) are slightly more likely than minorities (52%) to be willing to be first in line for the vaccine.
There are some racial differences among Democrats: with 79% white Democrats versus 62% minority Democrats who have already received the vaccine or want to get it as soon as possible.
In New York City, there is a glimpse of racial disparity in vaccinated residents so far.
White New Yorkers who have received the coronavirus vaccine outnumber Asian and Latino recipients by more than three to one and blacks by more than four by one, according to city demographics released Sunday.
A recent city survey also found that suburban residents were more hesitant than their Manhattan counterparts in search of the vaccine.
The University of Monmouth survey was conducted by telephone from January 21-24, 2021, with 809 adults in the United States. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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