A public opinion poll released Wednesday by Monmouth University found that nearly a quarter of Americans would avoid taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
When asked whether they would take the vaccine immediately, hold-off until more people receive it, or resist entirely, 24% of respondents said it is likely they “will never get the vaccine.” Meanwhile, 50% responded they would get the vaccine as soon as it became available. And nearly 20% said they would “see how it goes.”
Respondents varied widely concerning when they believe the US will get the virus under control and return to normal. Roughly 3 in 10 think this could happen by the summer, while 39% believe it will not happen before the end of 2021. Further, 6 in 10 respondents said they are “very concerned” someone in their family could become seriously ill.
NATIONAL POLL: When Americans plan to get #Covid vaccine:
6% already got it
50% as soon as allowed
19% wait and see
24% likely neverLIKELY NEVER by Party:
42% REP
25% IND
10% DEMhttps://t.co/UkCJdiMMUR— MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) February 3, 2021
The poll also revealed a partisan divide, Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute said in the release. Nearly 42% of Republicans polled said they would avoid vaccination.
“Reluctance to get the vaccine is driven more by partisanship than any single demographic factor. It says a lot about the depth of our partisan divide that it could impact public health like this,” Murray said.
Confidence in President Joe Biden to put the U.S. on track toward recovery from the pandemic sits at 71%, with 36% saying they are “very confident” and 35% answering they are “somewhat confident.” (RELATED: Andrew Cuomo Announces Indoor Dining Can Resume Despite Coronavirus Being Worse Than When He Banned It)
“A third of Republicans expressing confidence in Biden does not sound like much, but given the current environment it might just qualify as overwhelming bipartisanship,” Murray added.
The poll, which was conducted by phone from January 21 to 24, evaluated the responses of 809 US adults and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.