Majority Do Not Support COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for Adults

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The public does not support COVID-19 vaccine mandates for U.S. adults, according to a research letter published online Dec. 18 in JAMA Network Open.

Emily A. Largent, J.D., Ph.D., R.N., from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and colleagues surveyed 2,730 U.S. adults (from Sept. 14 to 27) regarding the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The researchers found that 61.4 percent of respondents indicated they would likely get a COVID-19 vaccine. There were political differences noted, with Republicans (44.3 percent) and Independents (58.4 percent) significantly less likely to get vaccinated than Democrats (76.6 percent). There were also racial differences observed, with Black respondents significantly less likely than non-Black respondents to get vaccinated (43.6 versus 63.7 percent). Just under half of respondents (48.6 percent) thought COVID-19 vaccination requirements for children attending school were acceptable or very acceptable, while 38.4 percent said they were unacceptable or very unacceptable. Respondents did not favor state mandates (40.9 percent acceptable versus 44.9 percent unacceptable); however, they were more more favorably disposed to employer-enforced employee vaccine mandates (47.7 percent acceptable versus 38.1 percent unacceptable).

“Mandates should be used only if COVID-19 continues to be inadequately contained and voluntary vaccine uptake is insufficient,” the authors write.

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