Majority of public plans to receive COVID-19 vaccine

As millions of COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine doses are distributed across the country, a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that the general public is becoming more receptive to receiving the shots.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor for December 2020, 71 percent of respondents say they would definitely or probably get a COVID-19 vaccine if it was deemed safe by scientists and was available for free on-demand. This is up from 63 percent reported in a September survey and is an increase across racial and ethnic groups, as well as among Democrats and Republicans.

The public continues to place their trust in their personal doctors with 85 percent of respondents saying they trust them at least a fair amount when it comes to information on COVID-19 vaccines, the release says.

Other key findings of the survey include:

• 27 percent of the public is still vaccine-hesitant even if it were free and deemed safe by scientists, this view is most prevalent among Republicans (42 percent), people aged 30 to 49 (36 percent), and rural residents (35 percent).
• 35 percent of Black adults, who have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, say they are definitely or probably not going to get vaccinated as well as 33 percent of essential workers, and 29 percent of healthcare workers.
• 59 percent of vaccine-hesitant respondents say their top concern is the side effects while 55 percent cite a lack of trust in the government to ensure it’s safe and effective, 53 percent are concerned that the vaccine is too new, and 51 percent don’t like the role politics played in its development.
• 71 percent of the public believes a vaccine will be widely available for anyone who wants one in the U.S. by summer 2021.

This article was originally published in Medical Economics.