Most Americans are willing to get a vaccine for covid-19, new research suggests. According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans are more likely to have been vaccinated or to want vaccination in February than a month ago, while the percentage of people who want to wait and see has also decreased.
KFF’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor has been monitoring people’s enthusiasm for a covid-19 vaccine since last December, through a nationally representative survey conducted by telephone. That last survey involved more than 1,800 adults interviewed between February 15 and 23, 2021.
For the first time in their survey, a small majority of Americans (55%) received at least one dose of the vaccine (18%) or are looking to get it as soon as possible (37%). This is higher than the 47% and 34% who said the same in January and December, respectively. The percentage of people who wait for others to take before making a decision has also decreased, from 31% in January to 22% in February.
The positive numbers are even more encouraging in light of the stabilityis improving vaccine launch in the USA As of Friday, 47.2 million Americans have received at least one dose of Moderna or Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines, while 22 million have been fully vaccinated with two doses. And access to the vaccine should be even easier soon.
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This weekend, the Food and Drug Administration is expected grant authorization for emergency use of the single dose vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, making it the third available for the US public. Once authorized, the company committed to send about 4 million doses immediately for distribution, along with a total of 20 million doses by the end of March. Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech pledged to produce 220 million combined doses by the end of next month.
J&J’s most convenient vaccine can make at least some people more comfortable with the vaccination. Of the people who still wanted to wait and see, 26% said they would be more willing to receive a vaccine if only one dose was needed. Other concerns cited by this group included potentially serious side effects or concerns that the vaccine would give them covid-19. Real-worldwide data continue to support the safety and efficacy of both mRNA vaccines, however, and none of the available vaccines are able to give covid-19 to people as it does not contain the actual coronavirus.
Enthusiasm for the vaccine increased across all demographic groups, but blacks and Hispanic Americans were even more likely to express caution about vaccination. They were also more likely to be concerned about potential problems, such as not being able to pay for the vaccine or getting it from a source they trust and worrying about not having the vaccine tested enough in your specific demographic group. Public health experts continued to emphasize the importance of building trust between these communities and correcting misinformation whenever possible. For example, all covid-19 vaccines will be available free of charge.
Over there remains a small minority of Americans who will be more difficult to change in their hesitation with the vaccine. About 15% in the survey said they would “definitely not” be vaccinated, while another 7% said they would only receive a vaccine if needed for work, school or other activities – numbers that haven’t changed much since December.
ºThese vaccines are ready to turn the tide against the pandemic and reduce deaths, hospitalizations, and new cases, and it looks like it has many people who are willing to take advantage of them as soon as they become available.