COVID-19 vaccination opinions vary by political affiliation
Which Americans are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and which are saying no to the vaccines can be predicted along political party lines.
A new survey from The Economist/YouGov reveals Americans may be resistant or accepting of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine based on their political party.
Overall, 59% of respondents in the survey said they had received all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among Democrats, 78% said they were vaccinated and only 4% said they will not get vaccinated. In contrast, just 50% of Republicans said they were fully vaccinated and 29% said they would not get vaccinated.
There are also differences in vaccination opinions across other demographics.
“Vaccine rejection is higher among whites than it is among black and Hispanic Americans, higher in the Midwest and South than elsewhere in the country, and it is also greater among those with less education,” the survey found. “White people with less than a college degree are more than 10 points more likely than white people with a college degree to say they will not be vaccinated.”
Those who don’t want to get vaccinated often cite side effects as one of their concerns, according to the survey. A whopping 90% of respondents cited fear of side effects more than their fear of the vaccine itself. However, a concerning portion of respondents—16%—said they didn’t believe most of the new COVID-19 cases were among the unvaccinated, or said they just didn’t know. More than 75% of vaccinated folks said they knew new cases were mostly among unvaccinated people.
Among the most concerning findings in the survey is the number of Americans who believe in conspiracy theories around the vaccine. As many as 1 in 5 respondents said they believed the U.S. government was using vaccinations to microchip the population. Another false belief among some Americans is that vaccines cause autism.
“Those who reject vaccinations believe two negative theories about the effects of COVID-19 vaccines: Half think it is likely that vaccines in general cause autism and that this vaccine in particular is being used by the government to microchip the population,” the survey reads. “Most Americans reject these theories, but only minorities of those who oppose their vaccinations do. Nearly one in three say they aren’t sure what to believe.”
See the full results here.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."