Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72%) have either received the coronavirus vaccine already or say they would be willing to take at least one of the two currently available vaccines, according to a recent national survey conducted by CNBC. Twenty-eight percent (28%) say they would NOT be willing to take either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Of course, some sections of the population are less likely to get vaccinated than others:
32% of women are not willing to take either vaccine, compared to 23% of men;
Vaccine hesitancy declines with age – 32% among ages 18-34 are not willing to get vaccinated, 31% among 35-49, 28% among 50-64, and 17% among 65+;
It also declines with educational attainment – 33% among those with less than a college education say they would decline the shot, 21% among college graduates, and 15% among those with a post-graduate degree; and
There is a significant partisan difference too. Republicans are less likely to say they would not get either vaccine (35%) compared to Democrats (16%). What is interesting in this poll is that Independents have the highest number of all on vaccine hesitancy, with 44% saying they would not get either vaccine. On a related note, perhaps because they do not foresee enough like themselves getting vaccinated, 15% of Independents say the coronavirus will never be contained compared to 7% overall.
Unlike most recent surveys, there is not a significant difference by ethnicity.
The reasons why partisan groups say they will not get the coronavirus vaccine differ as well. In the KFF December survey, 42% of Republicans say they would not get the vaccine compared to 12% of Democrats and 31% of Independents. The table below shows that, compared to adults overall, Independents who express hesitancy about the coronavirus vaccine do not trust vaccines in general and mistakenly believe they could get COVID-19 from the vaccine. The top two responses among Republicans though are feeling that the risks of COVID-19 have been exaggerated (57% compared to 43% overall) and that they do not trust the government to ensure the vaccine is safe (roughly the same as all adults). Not enough Democrats were unwilling to be vaccinated to examine their reasons why.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
This 28% overall who say they would not get either vaccine tracks with the 27% reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation in their December 2020 poll; their tracking shows an increase in the number of American adults who say they WOULD receive a vaccine from 63% in September to 71% in December. New Bridge Strategy and FM3 Research conducted a statewide poll of Colorado residents last August and found a similar result last fall, where 65% said they were very likely to get vaccinated when a vaccine became available.
The partisan difference in understanding the risks and science surrounding disease and vaccinations is certainly not new – in 1793 Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital, was hit with an outbreak of yellow fever that divided physicians and politicians.
But these days, it is a promising trend to see more Americans willing to consider the coronavirus vaccine. Like in the musical Hamilton, it seems that increasing portions of our country do not want to “throw away their shot.”
The CNBC All-America Economic Survey was conducted online February 2-7, 2021 among N=1,000 adults. The first Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll was conducted over the telephone August 28-September 3, 2021 among N=1,199 adults, and the KFF Health Tracking Poll/ COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor was conducted over the telephone November 30-December 8, 2021 among N=1,676 adults.