Dec 15, 2020,03:00am EST
Bruce Japsen Senior Contributor
More than 70% of Americans say they
will get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus as interest in vaccines to
combat the virus builds across the U.S., according to a new analysis.
A poll by the
Kaiser Family Foundation shows 71% of the U.S. public say they
will “definitely or probably” get the vaccine and that’s an increase from 63%
in September. The increasing enthusiasm for getting the vaccine comes as the
first shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech were granted emergency use
authorizations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week and are being
given to healthcare workers this week across the country.
About one-third of the public, or
34%, are considered the most enthusiastic about wanting the vaccine and
considered the “soon as possible” group, Kaiser said. Most in this group are
seniors, white adults and people with college degrees who are made largely of
Democrats.
Meanwhile, Republicans and black
Americans are the predominant groups among the 27% of the public that is most
hesitant about getting a Covid-19 vaccine, Kaiser’s data showed. But some of
the hesitancy may because they aren’t in the first round to get the vaccine,
which is first going to healthcare workers and the elderly in long-term care
facilities, the Kaiser analysis shows.
“Many who are hesitant are in wait-
and see mode, and their concerns include worries about side effects and whether
the vaccine can cause Covid-19, which may dissipate as people get more
information and see the vaccine introduced successfully among people they
know,” Kaiser Family Foundation president and chief executive Drew Altman said.
Some analysts think momentum to get a
vaccine will only rise as the first Americans are vaccinated and show few, if
any, side effects. Additional vaccines against Covid-19 are also in the works
with Moderna likely to win emergency use authorization for its vaccine in the
next week or so with vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and other
companies to be rolled out as early as March, Dr. Anthony
Fauci said last week.
The release of Kaiser’s poll results
Tuesday are the first of a new initiative the organization is launching to
track the “public’s views and experiences” with Covid-19 vaccinations as they
become available. See the entire poll results here.
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