Study Shows Half of Americans Would Get a Coronavirus Vaccine

A recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for public affairs shows that only 50% of Americans say they would get a Coronavirus vaccine. The poll showed that 31% of Americans were unsure if they’d get vaccinated while 1 in 5 people said they would refuse. Of those who say they won’t get vaccinated, 7 in 10 are worried about the safety of the vaccine, while 4 in 10 are concerned about catching the virus from the vaccine. Only 3 in 10 people who say they will not get vaccinated do not fear getting seriously ill from COVID-19

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‘I am not an anti-vaxxer,’ said Melanie Dries, 56, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. But, ‘to get a COVID-19 vaccine within a year or two … causes me to fear that it won’t be widely tested as to side effects.’

Only About Half of Americans Would Get a COVID-19 Vaccine, Poll Finds

A director of the National Institutes of Health states that safety is a top priority, but many Americans, even those who don’t consider themselves “anti-vaxxers,” are concerned about the safety of the vaccine. As many as 7 in 10 people who said they would be vaccinated are of the opinion that life cannot go back to normal without a vaccine. More than half of Democrats say a vaccine is necessary for reopening while only a third of Republicans believe this. Around 60% of democrats would get the vaccine compared to 43% of republicans.

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Many are of the opinion that we should not rely on a vaccine to save us. A safe vaccine has never been developed in such a short time frame. Additionally, the coronavirus is a SARS virus, similar to that of the common cold, which would make it difficult to vaccinate against.

Update: Another poll from Washington Post and ABC News says that about 7 in 10 Americans say they would get a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 if immunizations were free and available to everyone.