Data Show Growing Number of Americans Plan To Get Covid Vaccine

It's about trust. 

More Americans say they are inclined to be vaccinated, primarily because reports of catastrophic health effects have been minimal and the roll-out is largely perceived to be fair. JL

Melanie West reports in the Wall Street Journal:

69% of the public intends to get a vaccine, or already has received one, a sharp increase from 42% who said they planned to get vaccinated in November. 64% of Americans say that the vaccine rollout is going very or somewhat well in their area. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said the vaccination process “in their area has been very or somewhat fair.” Americans say their top concerns are about side effects and that vaccines were developed and tested too quickly. 25% said they have had Covid-19, and two-thirds said they knew someone who has been hospitalized or has died from the virus.

New research shows that a growing share of Americans plan to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

Some 69% of the public intends to get a vaccine, or already has received one, according to findings released Friday from the Pew Research Center.

The survey of 10,121 U.S. adults found that 19% have received a vaccine and another 50% said they would definitely or probably get it. In November, only 60% of those surveyed said they had or planned to get a vaccine.

The research, conducted in mid-February, found that 61% of Black Americans say they plan to get a Covid-19 vaccine or have already received one, a sharp increase from 42% who said they planned to get vaccinated in November. Black, Latino and Native American populations are among the hardest hit by Covid-19.

More than 8% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and 16.3% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Health authorities are relying on vaccinations to protect Americans against Covid-19 and to help reopen schools and businesses.

A third, newly-authorized vaccine from Johnson & Johnson started to reach states this week, increasing the pace of vaccination and helping to reverse what has been a shaky start to the country’s vaccination efforts.

The Pew research, however, found that 64% of Americans say that the vaccine rollout is going very or somewhat well in their area. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said the vaccination process “in their area has been very or somewhat fair.” In some states, however, there has been a growing backlash against age-based eligibility rules for Covid-19 vaccinations.

Other recent surveys have found that Americans are hesitant to get vaccinated. To reach population-level immunity and stop the spread of Covid-19 and tamp its mutations, between 70% and 80% of the population must develop immunity, scientists say.

The Pew survey found that about 30% of the public is disinclined to get a Covid-19 vaccine, with Americans saying that their top concerns are about side effects and that the vaccines were developed and tested too quickly. About 61% of those surveyed wanted to know more about how vaccines work, and 42% have a “sense they don’t need” the vaccine, while another 36% say they will pass on getting a vaccine because “they don’t get vaccines generally,” according to the research.

Of those surveyed, 25% said they have had Covid-19, and about two-thirds of respondents said they knew someone who has been hospitalized or has died from the virus.