Republicans, farmers, and black Americans are among the most reluctant to get vaccinated in the United States, according to research by Kaiser Family Foundation
As the United States begins with the most ambitious vaccination effort in its history, with images of relief health workers receiving first doses becoming the first topics on television screens and news sites, new data reveals that more than a quarter Americans say they probably or certainly wouldn’t be vaccinated against coronavirus.
That was the result of a survey released Tuesday by Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that Republicans, farmers and black Americans were among the most reluctant to get vaccinated.
Vaccination skepticism may not be entirely unpredictable, but it remains a challenge as the country seeks to curb rising daily infections, hospitalizations and deaths. It is noteworthy that on the same day that vaccinations began, the United States exceeded 300,000 deaths due to Covid, more than any other country.
The country has an average of more than 2,400 deaths a day, more than in the spring.
The Kaiser Family Foundation survey was conducted between November 30 to December 8 among a random sample of 1,676 adults aged 18 and over (including interviews with 298 Hispanic adults and 390 non-Hispanic black adults).
Overall, 71% of respondents said they would definitely get the vaccine, an 8% increase from the corresponding Kaiser data in a September survey. About a third (34%) even said they wanted the vaccine as soon as possible.
39% said they would wait to see how the vaccine works for other people before taking it themselves. 9 per cent said they would only get the vaccine if it was necessary for work, school or other activity. 12% said they probably would not have the vaccine and 15% said they would definitely not be vaccinated – even if its safety had been verified by scientists.
According to the research, as black Americans appear more anxious about side effects or to protect themselves from infection.
Nearly one in four Republicans “don’t want to get vaccinated because they don’t believe COVID poses a serious threat. It will be a real challenge to undo COVID denialism among this slice of President Trump’s political base,” says Mollyann Brodie, the foundation’s executive vice president.