POLL: Only 64% Of Americans Say They Would Get COVID-19 Vaccine, 14% Would Decline

According to the latest Morning Consult weekly coronavirus survey tracker, a full 14% of American adults stated that they would not get vaccinated against COVID-19 if a vaccine is created and made available.

64% of those surveyed said they would get the vaccine, while 22% “don’t know” or have “no opinion.”

Broken down by ideology and political party, the results display an interesting divide. Republican-identifying respondents are less likely to get vaccinated than Democrat-identifying respondents at 61% to 71%, respectively.

The percentage of independent-identifying respondents who would be vaccinated are even lower, at 58%.

20% of Republicans say they would not get a vaccine, while 7% of Democrats and 16% of independents say the same.

Those 65+ are the most likely age group to get the vaccine at 80%, while those 35-44 are least likely at 53%.

The survey also gauged concern over the “economic impact of the outbreak.” Here as well, a political divide is even more stark.

While 51% of Republicans said they are “more concerned about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak than the public health impact,” only 18% of Democrats said the same. Independents sat right in the middle at 34%.

Republican concern regarding the economy has grown, according to the survey, while Democratic concern has remained flat. On March 26, just 39% of Republicans surveyed were “more concerned about the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak than the public health impact,” while 19% of Democrats felt the same.

Independents have remained similarly flat, moving from 31% “concerned” to 34% “concerned” over the last month and change.

COVID-19 has infected more than 3.8 million worldwide, and led to the deaths of approximately 269,000 people, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. More than 1.2 million people have recovered.

In the United States, there have been over 1.2 million confirmed cases, and over 75,500 deaths as of publication. Approximately 195,000 have recovered from the illness in the U.S.

During a recent virtual town hall on Fox News, President Trump said that he believes a vaccine will be ready “by the end of this year.”

“We think we’re going to have a vaccine by the end of this year, and we’re pushing very hard. You know, we’re building supply lines now – we don’t even have the final vaccine,” the president stated. “You look at, Johnson & Johnson is doing it. We have many companies are, I think, close because I meet with the heads of them and I find it a very interesting subject because it’s so important, but I think we’ll have a vaccine by the end of the year.”

The president was likely referring to the administration’s alleged “Operation Warp Speed,” which would reportedly fast-track multiple vaccine candidates.