Barely 50% of Americans Would Opt to Get Coronavirus Vaccine - Massive Drop in Confidence

Barely 50% of Americans Would Opt to Get Coronavirus Vaccine - Massive Drop in Confidence

The percentage of Americans who say they would get vaccinated for the coronavirus has declined sharply since earlier this year, according to new research from Pew.

Only half of U.S. adults (51%) now say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 if it were available today; nearly as many (49%) say they definitely or probably would not get vaccinated at this time. Intent to get a COVID-19 vaccine has fallen from 72% in May, a 21 percentage point drop.

The new national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Sept. 8-13 among 10,093 U.S. adults, finds intent to get a COVID-19 vaccine has declined across all major political and demographic groups.

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This massive drop in support for vaccination is at the same time as a number of major drug companies are racing to develop an effective treatment.

Drug Companies in Phase 3

On Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson said it started a 60,000-person clinical trial of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine on three continents, becoming the fourth experimental COVID-19 shot to enter final-stage testing in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The trial follows an earlier study in which the shot showed promising results. It will now test whether a single dose of J&J’s vaccine can safely protect people from COVID-19. U.S. government agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services are helping to fund the study, which is expected to cost about $480 million,” reports the WSJ.

In addition, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE also began a Phase 3 trial of their vaccine in July and have enrolled nearly 32,000 toward a goal of 44,000. Interim results of the Moderna and Pfizer studies could come as soon as October, according to reports.

AstraZeneca, which licensed a vaccine from the University of Oxford, started a 30,000-person Phase 3 trial in the U.S. in August but that study is on hold while an independent committee reviews a safety matter.

Moderna, in conjunction with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, started Phase 3 testing in July. Moderna has enrolled nearly 26,000 people toward a goal of 30,000 participants in the testing.

 

Democrats v. Republicans, Blacks and Whites

According to Pew, there are significant differences between political and racial groups as to who is willing to take a vaccine.

Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party are 14 percentage points more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they would probably or definitely get a vaccine (58% vs. 44%), Pew found.

And, Black adults are much less likely to say they would get a vaccine than other Americans.

Just 32% of Black adults say they would definitely or probably get a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 52% of White adults, 56% of Hispanics, and nearly three-quarters (72%) of Asian Americans.