Coronavirus Vaccines
Poll: More Americans willing to be vaccinated
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The survey's authors cautioned that confidence in a vaccine remained lower than it was earlier in the pandemic.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK • In a sign that Americans are becoming less hesitant to take a Covid-19 vaccine, a Gallup poll released on Tuesday showed that 58 per cent of adults surveyed were willing to be vaccinated, up from 50 per cent in September.
The survey was conducted between Oct 19 and Nov 1, as coronavirus cases surged across the country, but before Pfizer and Moderna announced that their vaccines were about 90 per cent effective against the virus in late-stage trials.
The results are promising for an eventual vaccine roll-out, as widespread inoculation against the virus is seen as essential before life can return to some normalcy.
The survey's authors warned, however, that confidence in a vaccine remained lower than it was earlier in the pandemic.
In June, for instance, Gallup reported that 66 per cent of Americans said they would be vaccinated.
While the percentage of American adults who said they would not be vaccinated dropped to 42 per cent from 50 per cent in September, scepticism about a rushed vaccine, among other factors, still presents a significant challenge.
"A longer period of development and clinical testing" may help ameliorate some of the most common reasons for concern, the poll's authors wrote.
Dr Phoebe Danziger, a paediatrician at the University of Michigan, said the Gallup data was consistent with what she had observed. "Clearly, there's a lot of hesitation out there, but it seems like there's a slight shift into a positive view," she said, adding that Americans across the political spectrum are starting to see that they are "really going to need this to get out of this mess".
The poll, which surveyed 2,985 adults, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The increased willingness to take a Covid-19 vaccine was more pronounced in certain groups, particularly Democrats and Americans between the ages of 45 and 64. Among Democrats, willingness rose to 69 per cent last month from 53 per cent in September.
Nearly half of Americans between the ages of 45 and 64 - 49 per cent - said they were willing to take a vaccine, up from 36 per cent in September.
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58%
Proportion of Americans willing to take a coronavirus vaccine, in a Gallup poll released on Tuesday.
50%
Proportion willing to take such a vaccine, in a poll in September.
Despite the increase, people in that age group remained least likely to say they would do so.
Meanwhile, the United States approved the first Covid-19 diagnostic kit for self-testing at home, adding one more tool to battle the pandemic as nationwide testing capabilities come under more strain.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency-use authorisation to Lucira Health's rapid-result All-In-One Test Kit, the government agency said on Tuesday.
While some Covid-19 tests allow people to provide samples from home, this is the first test that can be fully self-administered and can provide results at home in 30 minutes or less.
FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn said: "This new testing option is an important diagnostic advancement to address the pandemic and reduce the public burden of disease transmission."
NYTIMES, BLOOMBERG
