Over a quarter of Americans are either not getting vaccinated or remain unsure if they will, an Economist/YouGov survey released this week found.
The survey asked respondents to describe their “personal situation regarding COVID-19 vaccines.”
A majority of those surveyed, 60 percent, said they have completed their vaccine series, while six percent said they started the process. Another seven percent said they plan to get vaccinated.
However, 18 percent said they are “not” getting vaccinated, and another 9 percent said they remain unsure.
The survey listed a series of scenarios to see whether the unvaccinated could be persuaded. However, only six percent said they would be persuaded if their doctor urged them to, eight percent said they would be if their employer required it, and four percent said they would be persuaded if their governor urged them to do it.
The survey comes as politicians begin to deem the voluntary phase of getting vaccinated “over,” hoping to use overreaching government edicts to trigger the desired behavior in the remainder of the population that has, so far, refused to get the jab.
“The way to get more people vaccinated is not just voluntary approaches, which I applaud, the incentives which we believe in and are working, but it requires mandates as well,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said this week after announcing the Key to NYC Pass, which forces indoor restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues to discriminate against the unvaccinated, denying them entry unless they can show proof of vaccination.
“We know human nature. A lot of people hearing there’s a requirement or requirement coming respond to that. It’s normal. It’s natural. The voluntary phase was great,” he said.
“[It] went on for seven full months, lots of incentives, lots of dialogue, lots of communication, lots of opportunity to talk to your doctor or pediatrician. The voluntary phase is over,” he declared, predicting that other local governments will begin to take on similar policies.
“We are taking bold action for ourselves but also to help everyone else take bold action. The Key to NYC Pass, this is what’s going to be happening all over the country,” he boasted.
The survey, taken July 31 – August 3, 2021, Amon 1,500 U.S. adults, has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent.