WASHINGTON (AP) — As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes.
The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a quarter of U.S. adults aren’t sure if they want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Roughly another quarter say they won’t.
Many on the fence have safety concerns and want to watch how the initial rollout fares — skepticism that could hinder the campaign against the scourge that has killed nearly 290,000 Americans. Experts estimate at least 70% of the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, or the point at which enough people are protected that the virus can be held in check.
“Trepidation is a good word. I have a little bit of trepidation towards it,” said Kevin Buck, a 53-year-old former Marine from Eureka, California.
Buck said he and his family will probably get vaccinated eventually, if initial shots go well.
“It seems like a little rushed, but I know there was absolutely a reason to rush it,” he said of the vaccine, which was developed with remarkable speed, less than a year after the virus was identified. “I think a lot of people are not sure what to believe, and I’m one of them.”
Amid a frightening surge in COVID-19 that promises a bleak winter across the country, the challenge for health authorities is to figure out what it will take to make people trust the shots that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease expert, calls the light at the end of the tunnel.
“If Dr. Fauci says it’s good, I will do it,” said Mary Lang, 71, of Fremont, California. She added: “Hopefully if enough of us get the vaccine, we can make this virus go away.”
Early data suggests the two U.S. frontrunners — one vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech and another by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health — offer strong protection. The Food and Drug Administration is poring over study results to be sure the shots are safe before deciding whether to allow mass vaccinations, as Britain began doing with Pfizer’s shots on Tuesday, December 8.
Despite the hopeful news, feelings haven’t changed much from an AP-NORC poll in May, before it was clear a vaccine would pan out.
In the survey of 1,117 American adults conducted Dec. 3-7, about 3 in 10 said they are very or extremely confident that the first available vaccines will have been properly tested for safety and effectiveness. About an equal number said they are not confident. The rest fell somewhere in the middle.
Experts have stressed that no corners were cut during development of the vaccine, attributing the speedy work to billions in government funding and more than a decade of behind-the-scenes research.
Among those who don’t want to get vaccinated, about 3 in 10 said they aren’t concerned about getting seriously ill from the coronavirus, and around a quarter said the outbreak isn’t as serious as some people say.
About 7 in 10 of those who said they won’t get vaccinated are concerned about side effects. Pfizer and Moderna say testing has uncovered no serious ones so far. As with many vaccines, recipients may experience fever, fatigue or sore arms from the injection, signs the immune system is revving up.
But other risks might not crop up until vaccines are more widely used. British health authorities are examining two possible allergic reactions on the first day the country began mass vaccinations with the Pfizer shot.
Among Americans who won’t get vaccinated, the poll found 43% are concerned the vaccine itself could infect them — something that’s scientifically impossible, since the shots don’t contain any virus.
Protecting their family, their community and their own health are chief drivers for people who want the vaccine. Roughly three-quarters said life won’t go back to normal until enough of the country is vaccinated.
“Even if it helps a little bit, I’d take it,” said Ralph Martinez, 67, who manages a grocery store in Dallas. “I honestly think they wouldn’t put something out there that would hurt us.”
Over the summer, about a third of Martinez’s employees were out with COVID-19. He wears a mask daily but worries about the constant public contact and is concerned that his 87-year-old mother is similarly exposed running her business.
COVID-19 has killed or hospitalized Black, Hispanic and Native Americans at far higher rates than white Americans. Yet 53% of white Americans said they will get vaccinated, compared with 24% of Black Americans and 34% of Hispanics like Martinez.
Because of insufficient sample size, the survey could not analyze results among Native Americans or other racial and ethnic groups that make up a smaller proportion of the U.S. population.
* The AP-NORC poll using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Online: AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.
ESPAÑOL:
WASHINGTON (AP) — En momentos en que los gobiernos estatales en Estados Unidos se preparan para comenzar meses de vacunaciones que pudieran frenar la pandemia del coronavirus, un nuevo sondeo indica que apenas la mitad de los estadounidenses están dispuestos a inyectarse cuando les toque su turno.
La encuesta de The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research muestra que aproximadamente una cuarta parte de los adultos no están seguros de si quieren vacunarse contra el coronavirus. Alrededor de otra cuarta parte dicen que no lo harán.
Muchos de los indecisos tienen preocupaciones sobre la inocuidad de la vacuna y quieren ver cómo salen las cosas en los inicios: un escepticismo que pudiera obstaculizar la campaña contra una pandemia que ha matado ya a casi 290.000 estadounidenses. Los expertos estiman que al menos el 70% de la población tiene que vacunarse para conseguir la llamada inmunidad de grupo necesaria para controlar la pandemia.
“La palabra trepidación lo dice todo. Siento un poco de trepidación hacia ella”, dijo Kevin Buck, un exmarine de 53 años y residente en Eureka, California, en referencia a la vacuna.
“Creo que mucha gente no está segura en qué creer y yo soy uno de ellos”, agregó.
En medio de un rebrote de infecciones que anuncia un invierno sombrío en el país, el reto para las autoridades de salud pública es determinar lo que se requerirá para que la gente confíe en las inyecciones que el Dr. Anthony Fauci, el principal experto en enfermedades infecciosas en Estados Unidos, considera como la luz al final del túnel.
“Si el Dr. Fauci dice que es buena, lo hago”, dijo Mary Lang, de 71 años y residente en Freemont, California. Añadió que “con suerte, si suficientes de nosotros nos vacunamos, podemos lograr que se acabe este virus”.
Datos preliminares indican que las dos vacunas en fase más avanzada en Estados Unidos —una producida por Pfizer y BioNTech y otra por Moderna y los Institutos Nacionales de Salud— ofrecen una fuerte protección. La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos está examinando los resultados de los estudios para asegurarse de que las vacunas son inocuas antes de decidir si autoriza vacunaciones en masa, como lo hizo Gran Bretaña a partir del martes, 8 de diciembre, con la vacuna de Pfizer.
Pese a las noticias esperanzadoras, las opiniones no han cambiado mucho desde el sondeo de AP-NORC en mayo, cuando no se sabía si se podría conseguir una vacuna.
En el sondeo de 1.117 adultos en Estados Unidos, conducido del 3 al 7 de diciembre, 3 de cada 10 dijeron que estaban muy o extremamente confiados en que las primeras vacunas disponibles fueron probadas adecuadamente para determinar su eficacia e inocuidad. Aproximadamente la misma proporción dijo que no confía. El resto expresó una posición intermedia.
Aproximadamente 7 de cada 10 de los que dijeron que no se vacunarían están preocupados por los efectos secundarios. Pfizer y Moderna dicen que sus pruebas no han arrojado ninguna secuela grave.
* El sondeo de AP-NORC usó una muestra del AmriSpeak Panel de NORC, basado en probabilidades. El margen de error fue de más/menos 3,9 puntos porcentuales.
