Forty-seven precent of Americans who supported former President Donald Trump in 2020 do not intend to take a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new poll.
About two-thirds of Americans overall have either already gotten a vaccine or say they will get one when it becomes available, the poll from NPR, PBS and Marist found. Thirty percent say they will refuse a vaccine when available, and 3% remain unsure.
Almost half of Trump voters (47%) say they will *not* choose to be vaccinated when the coronavirus vaccine is made available to them via new NPR/PBS/Marist poll.
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) March 11, 2021
41% of Republicans said they wouldn’t take a vaccine, compared to only 11% of Democrats. The three vaccines approved for use in the United States from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson have all proved highly effective at preventing serious cases of COVID-19.
Trump and his wife Melania reportedly received a vaccine in the White House in January. (RELATED: ‘If I Wasn’t President, You Wouldn’t Be Getting That Beautiful Shot’: Trump Credits Himself For Vaccine)
Thirty-seven percent of Latino Americans said they would not take a vaccine, compared to 28% of white Americans and 25% of black Americans. Among white Evangelical Christians specifically, 38% said they would refuse a vaccine.
Despite the reluctance of many Republicans and Trump supporters, the 30% of Americans unwilling to get vaccinated is the lowest number so far found by the NPR/PBS/Marist poll.
Americans were also sharply divided by party on the question of coronavirus lockdowns. Three-quarters of Republicans said states should prioritize re-starting the economy even if it hurts efforts to control the spread of the virus, while 78% of Democrats said states should prioritize the pandemic over the economy. Support for lockdowns was roughly the same for Americans making more or less than $50,000.
The poll also found that 49% of Americans approve of the job performance of President Joe Biden so far, compared to 42% who disapprove. On the issue of the coronavirus specifically, President Biden’s approval rating was a much higher 62%, including 30% of Republicans.
