Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Want the COVID-19 Vaccine as Soon as Possible

FRIDAY, Jan. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — U.S. adults are increasingly eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to survey results released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.

The survey was conducted from Nov. 30 to Dec. 8, 2020, and included a nationally representative random-digit dial telephone sample of 1,676 adults.

According to the results of the survey, nearly half (47 percent) of the public want to get the vaccine as soon as they can or have already been vaccinated, which is up from 34 percent in December. White adults (53 percent) remain more eager to get the vaccine “as soon as possible” compared with 35 percent of Black and 42 percent of Hispanic respondents. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of respondents say they want to “wait until it has been available for a while to see how it is working for others” before getting it themselves. Black and Hispanic adults are more likely to wait and see than White adults (43, 37, and 26 percent, respectively). One in five, particularly in rural areas, express reluctance to get vaccinated, including 7 percent who say they will only get the vaccine if required and 13 percent who say they will “definitely not” get it. Respondents say they would be more likely to get a vaccine if they heard it was “highly effective” in preventing illness from COVID-19 (57 percent) and that the vaccine offers “the quickest way for life to return to normal” (54 percent).

“Perhaps more important than any message is the impact of seeing a neighbor, friend, or family member get their shots without any adverse effects,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said in a statement. “It provides hope that vaccine confidence will build over time.”

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