Poll: Nearly One-Third of Americans ‘Uncertain’ or ‘Unwilling’ to Get Coronavirus Vaccine

Nearly one-third of Americans are “uncertain” or “unwilling” to get a vaccine for the Chinese coronavirus, a Morning Consult survey released this week revealed.

The survey, detailed by Forbes on Friday, was conducted May 25-31 with 40,408 interviews in the United States. It found 31 percent of Americans expressing hesitancy to get the coronavirus shot.

Morning Consult asked respondents, “Have you gotten the vaccine, or not?”

“Respondents could reply ‘Yes,’ ‘No, but I will get it in the future,’ ‘No, and I am not sure if I will get it in the future,’ or ‘No, and I do not plan to get it.'”

Of the 31 percent who expressed hesitancy, 19 percent said they are “unwilling,” and 12 percent said they are “uncertain.” Fifty-eight percent of U.S. respondents identified as already vaccinated, and 11 percent said they plan to get vaccinated.

The survey comes as the Biden administration ramps up efforts to get 70 percent of the nation vaccinated by Independence Day. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) director, Rochelle Walensky, is now encouraging parents to get their children 12 and older to get vaccinated.

Notably, the survey found Russia and Australia as the two countries expressing the most hesitancy to get vaccinated, 53 percent of Russians indicating they are “uncertain” or “unwilling,” and 37 percent of Australians reporting the same.

Of the countries surveyed, the United Kingdom wielded the most vaccinated people (70 percent). Canada followed with 67 percent.

According to Morning Consult, “The rate of skepticism has fallen by an average of 5.5 percentage points in the 15 countries tracked, and has fallen by at least one point in 14 of those countries” over the last seven weeks.

Thirty-seven percent of those in the U.S. who are unsure if they will get vaccinated attribute their concerns to side effects. Thirty percent said they are worried the clinical trial moved too fast, nine percent said they do not trust the companies making the vaccines, eight percent said the risk of contracting the virus is “small,” six percent said they do not think the vaccine will be effective, and five percent said they are against vaccines “more generally.”

According to the CDC’s June 4 data, 41.4 percent of the U.S. population is “fully” vaccinated, and 51.1 percent have received at least one dose.