More than half of Americans believe that unvaccinated people should not be allowed to return to the office or use public spaces.
According to a survey released Friday, a growing number of people in the United States want to get the coronavirus vaccine and most also support restrictions on work, lifestyle and travel for those who are not inoculated against COVID-19.
The national opinion poll conducted by Reuters / Ipsos found that 54 percent of respondents said they were “very interested” in getting vaccinated. This happened from a January survey, when 41% expressed the same level of interest and 38% in a May 2020 survey before a coronavirus vaccine was developed.
Amid a limited supply of vaccine doses, most states continue to prioritize front-line workers, the elderly, and those with underlying diseases.
According to the survey, 55% agreed that unvaccinated people should not exercise in public gyms, or enter cinemas or attend public concerts. [Lucy Nicholson/Reuters]
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday called for a major speech in U.S. states that vaccines be open to all adults before May, to pave the way for economic and social life to resume on July 4. , a U.S. Independence Day holiday.
Interest in the vaccine has increased over the past year among whites and racial minorities, with about six out of ten whites and five out of ten members of minority groups now showing high interest.
According to the survey, 27% of Americans said they were not interested in getting vaccinated, relatively unchanged from a similar survey conducted in May.
But, foreshadowing the social challenges that may arise when the United States begins to emerge from the year-round pandemic, the latest survey showed that most Americans want to limit the ways in which unvaccinated people can mix in public.
According to the survey, seventy-two percent of Americans said it was important to know “whether the people around me have been vaccinated.”
People making a greeting after leaving a Disneyland car park that has become a mass vaccination site in Anaheim, California, USA [File: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters]
A majority, 62%, said vaccinated people should not be allowed to travel by plane. Fifty-five percent agreed that unvaccinated people should not exercise in public gyms, or enter movie theaters, or attend public concerts.
When asked about the workplace, 60% of Americans said they wanted to work for an employer “that requires everyone to get the coronavirus vaccinated before returning to the office” and 56% went thinking that unvaccinated workers should stay home.
Companies could soon feel increasing pressure to address these concerns. About 18 percent of the U.S. population has already received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Amesh Adalja, a scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the answers to the survey made sense, given the social restrictions imposed on everyone over the past year.
“People say,‘ If I’m vaccinated, it will change my life, ’” Adalja said. “And if you’re not vaccinated, this is your choice. But you’ll have a different state because you could be carrying this virus, so you could pass it on to another unvaccinated person.”