Topline
Some 70% of Americans have either received, arranged to receive or will make plans to get a Covid-19 vaccine, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, bringing into focus a goal President Joe Biden set for the Fourth of July–but efforts could be marred by persistent rates of vaccine hesitancy that have have not shifted for months and threaten the overall inoculation drive.
Polling finds Biden's 70% vaccination coverage goal within reach.
Key Facts
KFF’s polling from May 18 through May 25 found 70% of Americans had either received at least one dose of a vaccine (62%), wanted one as soon as possible (4%) or had booked or intended to book an appointment to get one (4%).
While the new survey shows a decrease in people wanting to “wait and see,” which fell from 15% to 12%, and an increase in people receiving the shot (up from 56% in April), it belies a harder battle ahead for public health efforts to boost uptake.
Some 7% interviewed said they would only get a vaccine if required and 13% said they would “definitely not” get one, figures that have barely shifted in KFF’s monthly polling since December.
Of the “wait and see” cohort, a third said they planned to wait more than a year to get the shot.
Incentives could be useful tools in encouraging people to roll up their sleeves, the poll found, with a fifth of unvaccinated workers more likely to get one if they had paid leave to attend and recover.
More than 40% of adults said they found the CDC guidelines that relax restrictions for vaccinated people confusing – the rules rely on an honor system and aim to encourage people to get vaccinated, but most unvaccinated people pay little attention to it when making a decision, according to the poll.
Key Background
The latest poll is in line with many others in showing the persistent issue vaccine hesitancy poses to the nationwide inoculation drive and indicates Biden’s Fourth of July vaccination goal is within tentative reach. It’s possible immunizing 70% of Americans would reach the herd immunity threshold needed to stop the virus spreading, though this figure is on the lower end of the upward-shifting figure experts now believe to be needed. Initial estimates placed herd immunity at around 60-70% of the population acquiring resistance to the virus but this marker could now be as high as 90%. Some experts doubt herd immunity will be achievable for Covid-19, perhaps ever, due to vaccine hesitancy, emerging virus variants and a delay rolling vaccines out to children.
What To Watch For
Of the parents of adolescents (12-17) interviewed by KFF, 41% said their child had already had at least one shot or they had plans to get them vaccinated swiftly. With parents of younger children, for whom vaccines are not yet available, hesitancy was much greater, with around a third saying they would “wait and see.”
Big Number
50%. This is how much of the total population has received at least one dose of a vaccine in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Further Reading
Malta Claims Herd Immunity From Covid-19 With 70% Of Its Adults Partially Vaccinated (Forbes)
KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: May 2021 (KFF)
70 Percent Covid Vaccination Rate May Be in Reach, New Poll Suggests (NYT)
