30% of Americans plan to refuse coronavirus vaccine, rest say they'll take it if it's deemed safe: Survey
A safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is the best hope to ending this pandemic, and yet, more than 30% of Americans say they will not get themselves vaccinated, reveals a survey.
The survey by tech PR firm Bospar shows that some vaccine skeptics are refusing to budge even when faced with a virus that is growing stronger with each passing day. The US is leading the world in the number of cases, with over 1.2M infections and more than 71,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
According to the survey, those aged between 18 and 24 were least likely to get a shot. "People who are younger have a false sense of invincibility while people who are older are not only concerned about it through news reports, but are also acquainted with their mortality by having lived longer," lead investigator Curtis Sparrer, a principal at Bospar, told DailyMail.com.
The polling further showed that men are more likely to opt for a vaccine than women. As for political leaning, Democrats were 16% more likely than Republicans to get one.
The PR firm arrived at these findings after studying responses from more than 1,000 adults, who filled out a questionnaire between April 28 and 29.
These results come as countries are racing to develop a vaccine as it could decide when life can return to normalcy. US President Donald Trump is confident of developing one by the end of the year.
Some Americans are concerned about vaccine safety
Other estimates point out that 20-40% of Americans have reservations about vaccine safety. Many experts fear that if enough people do not get vaccinated, we may lose our chances of defeating the virus. Estimates suggest that 50% to 70% of Americans need to develop immunity to Covid-19 — either naturally or via a vaccine — in order to beat the virus.
"If these estimates are correct, that could mean that nearly twice as many Americans would need to elect to receive a Covid-19 vaccine than those who currently opt to be vaccinated against seasonal influenza. Just 37% of American adults did so in 2017-2018, even in the midst of a historically severe flu season," Kristin Lunz Trujillo from the University of Minnesota and Dr Matt Motta from Oklahoma State University, wrote in the Conversation.
"If most of these individuals forego receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, they could potentially jeopardize the recovery process," they added.
Making matters worse is misinformation. According to these researchers, prominent anti-vaccine websites have already begun circulating misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine.
More are willing to get vaccinated if proven safe
Another survey conducted by Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that nearly 75% of Americans are open to receiving a vaccine if they are assured to be safe, and another 9% will take one as soon as it was available.
The participants of the survey said they would feel more comfortable if studies show they work. About 40% of them will wait for a vaccine approved by US Food and Drug Administration approval, and 38% will get one after extensive, peer-reviewed clinical trials.
About 6% said they are ready to take a coronavirus vaccine after a friend or family member tried it. The same percentage of people will try it if Trump endorses it. About 89% of the participants will opt for a vaccine if made in the US.
"A vaccine would be an important tool because I don’t think the virus is going to disappear,” Arthur Reingold, head of epidemiology and biostatistics at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health, told Reuters.