Nearly a third of US adults say they will definitely or probably NOT get the COVID-19 vaccine

Nearly a third of American adults say they are unlikely to receive a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available to them, new research suggests.

Conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center, the report found that 67% of Americans plan to get the vaccine or have already done so.

However, 15% are certain they will not receive the jab and 17% said they probably will not.

Many expressed doubts about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, suggesting that substantial skepticism persists for more than a month and a half in the US vaccination campaign, which found few side effects.

The survey also found that resistance is greatest among young people, people without college degrees, black Americans and Republicans.

Some experts say this is discouraging news if the United States hopes to obtain collective immunity and win the outbreak, as well as helping President Joe Biden achieve his goal of 150 million shots in his first 100 days

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist, estimated that somewhere between 70% and 85% of the US population needs to be vaccinated to stop the scourge that has killed almost 470,000 Americans.

More recently, he said that the spread of more contagious variants of the virus increases the need for more people to get their vaccines – and quickly.

So, 67% of Americans are enough?

‘No. No, no, no, no, ‘said Dr. William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology and a specialist in disease dynamics at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health.

‘You will need to get very large proportions of the vaccinated population before you see a real effect.’

Nearly 33 million Americans – or about 10 percent of the population – received at least one dose, and 9.8 million were fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey, which surveyed 1,055 adults between January 28 and February 1, provides insight into skepticism.

Of those who said they would definitely not receive the vaccine, 60% cited concerns about side effects, despite the vaccine’s safety history in recent months.

Approximately the same percentage said they did not trust COVID-19 vaccines and 38 percent said they did not believe they needed a vaccine.

Of those who are unlikely to receive the vaccine but have not completely discarded it, 63% said they are waiting to see if it is safe and 60% said they are concerned about possible side effects.

Almost 30% said they were concerned about allergic reactions after some reports of people who suffered anaphylaxis.

‘I don’t trust pharmaceuticals. I really don’t want to. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to be safe, ‘Debra Nanez, a 67-year-old retired nurse from Tucson, Arizona, told the AP.

Nanez said she received flu and pneumonia vaccines, but is concerned about rumors about what’s in the coronavirus vaccine, and her friends have the same hesitation.

“It would take me a while to do research on it to make sure it is safe. I just don’t want to take anything that could harm me, ”she said.

Baron Walker, a 42-year-old layoff insulation installer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, said he was in the “probably not” column, at least for now.

He said that if he was elderly or lived in a densely populated area, he might consider the vaccine more strongly.

But he is in the rural part of the country, has worn a mask and is socially distant and feels that there is a good chance the nation will achieve collective immunity, he said.

‘I feel like I have a lot of time before I get a chance to get [the vaccine] anyway, to find out if there are bad side effects and whether they are worth getting, ‘said Walker.

The survey found that older Americans, who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, are especially likely to say they have received an injection or are likely to be or definitely vaccinated.

Four out of 10 people under the age of 45 say they are unlikely to receive the vaccine, or definitely not, compared to a quarter of older people.

Black Americans seem less likely than white Americans to say that they received the injection or that they are sure or likely to be vaccinated, 57% versus 68%.

Among Hispanic Americans, 65 percent say they have received or plan to receive the vaccine.

Public health experts have long known that some black Americans are suspicious of the medical establishment because of their history of abuse, including the infamous Tuskegee experiments, in which black syphilis patients were not treated so that doctors could study the disease.

Americans without a college degree are more likely than those with a college degree to say that they will definitely or probably not be vaccinated, 40% versus 17%.

And Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say they are not or will definitely not get the vaccine, 44% versus 17%.

Health officials are trying to contain vaccine concerns with science.

The latest evidence indicates that the two vaccines used in the U.S. – Pfizer and Moderna – are effective even against the variants, said Fauci

Furthermore, although vaccine development has been extraordinarily rapid, it was the culmination of many years of research,

And the vaccines have undergone clinical tests involving thousands of people who have been monitored for 60 days after the last dose. Studies with other vaccines have found that harmful side effects almost always materialize within 45 days.

“Security has certainly not been compromised, nor has scientific integrity been compromised,” said Fauci.

“Many have reasons for skepticism. But I think that when you explain the facts and data to them, you can win them over. ‘