NEW YORK (AP) – About 1 in 3 Americans say they will definitely or probably not get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new research that some experts say is discouraging news if the United States hopes to achieve collective immunity and beat the outbreak .
The Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center survey found that while 67% of Americans plan to get vaccinated or have already done so, 15% are sure they won’t and 17% say they probably won’t. Many expressed doubts about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
The research suggests that substantial skepticism persists for more than a month and a half in a vaccination campaign in the United States that has found few or no serious side effects. He found that resistance is greatest among young people, people without a college degree, black Americans and Republicans.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease scientist, estimated that somewhere between 70% and 85% of the US population needs to be inoculated to stop the scourge that killed some 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 William Hanage, a disease dynamics expert at Harvard University. He added, “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% 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 of 1,055 adults, conducted from January 28 to February 1, provides insight into skepticism.
Of those who said they would definitely not receive the vaccine, 65% 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% said they did not believe they needed a vaccine, with a similar share saying they did not know whether a COVID-19 vaccine would work and did not trust the government.
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.
“I don’t trust pharmaceuticals. I really don’t want to. And it doesn’t look like it will be safe, ”said Debra Nanez, a 67-year-old retired nurse from Tucson, Arizona.
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 that 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 any bad side effects and if it’s worth taking,” said Walker.
In interviews, some Americans expressed concern about the revolutionary speed with which vaccines were developed – less than a year.
“I feel like they rushed,” said Walker.
This was echoed by Matt Helderman, 31, of Greer, South Carolina.
“I would like to see more safety data,” said Helderman, a video editor and associate producer for a Christian TV show. He also said he would like to see more clarity about whether the vaccine is effective against new variants.
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.
In addition, 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. “
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 they received the injection or that they will definitely or probably be vaccinated, 57% versus 68%. Among Hispanic Americans, 65% say they received or plan to get 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 study, 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 that, 44% versus 17%.
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Fingerhut reported from Washington.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,055 adults was conducted from January 28 to February 28. 1 using a sample taken from the NORC probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which was designed to be representative of the US population. The sampling error margin for all respondents is about 3.8 percentage points.
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AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.