Story at a glance
- The survey of 1,117 Americans conducted Dec. 3-7 by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 47 percent of adults in the U.S. said they will be getting a coronavirus vaccine.
- Twenty-seven percent said they were unsure, and 26 percent said they will not be getting vaccinated.
- A separate poll released by Gallup Monday found 63 percent of Americans would get the vaccine.
A new poll suggests about half of Americans are willing to receive a coronavirus vaccine as doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine could be rolled out as early as Friday pending emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The survey of 1,117 Americans conducted Dec. 3-7 by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 47 percent of adults in the U.S. said they will be getting a coronavirus vaccine, while 27 percent said they were unsure and 26 percent said they will not be getting vaccinated.
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While COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Black, Hispanic and Native Americans compared to their white counterparts, 24 percent of Black Americans and 34 percent of Hispanics said they would get vaccinated, while 53 percent of white Americans said the same.
The poll found nearly 30 percent of respondents said they were very or extremely confident the vaccine will be properly tested, while 40 percent said they were somewhat confident and 32 percent said they were not too confident or not confident at all.
Of the Americans who said they will not be getting vaccinated, most said it was due to concerns about possible side effects.
On Tuesday, British regulators warned people with “significant” histories of allergic reactions shouldn’t take Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine after two people reported adverse reactions. The shot may also come with temporary side effects such as fever and muscle aches.
The United Kingdom kicked off its mass vaccination campaign on Tuesday, one week after becoming the first country to approve Pfizer’s vaccine. An independent panel of the FDA is set to meet on Thursday to discuss the vaccine and an emergency use authorization is expected shortly after.
Public health experts have estimated about 70 percent of the U.S. population will need to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
A separate poll released by Gallup Monday showed a more optimistic outlook on the number of Americans willing to get vaccinated. The poll of 2,968 adults between Nov. 16-29 found 63 percent of U.S. adults said they would receive the vaccine.
That number is up 13 percentage points from September.
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