Many would get COVID-19 vaccine, but hesitancy remains — CBS News poll

Most say they either will, or at least might, get a COVID-19 vaccine when they’re eligible — or else have gotten one already — but there are plenty who are still on the fence about it. Many of those say “maybe” they’ll get one, and then there are others who say outright that they won’t.

Asked why they might not, or will not, reasons tilt toward skepticism about the vaccine and its development with a wait-and-see approach, and worries about side effects. There are also some who mistrust either the government or those who developed the shot. And there are partisan views at work here, too.

One in 5 also say they never get any vaccines, and a similar number say they just aren’t concerned about coronavirus.

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans and independents to say yes, they’d get one. Both the latter groups say they’d prefer to wait and see what happens — this is among their main reasons for not saying yes. (In other polling throughout the pandemic, Republicans have been relatively less concerned about the virus, generally, than have Democrats, though that’s not as much a reason for them here, compared to concerns about its being untested or about side effects.)

When considering those who say they’ll get the shot plus those who have already, we see some differences by race, with Black and Hispanic respondents somewhat less likely to say they’ve gotten one already. But then among those who have not yet gotten the shot, willingness to eventually get one is comparable between White, Black and Hispanic Americans overall. Some of this is also related to partisanship. 

And amid much debate over schools and reopening, Americans are mixed. While only one-third want to see schools open completely as normal with full schedules, most want at least some limited reopening with at least partial or rotating schedules. Here again we see partisan differences, with Republicans far more likely than Democrats to call for full school reopening. Among parents, specifically, these split views also emerge, but with comparable numbers, around one-third are looking for schools to be completely opened.

The CBS News survey of 1,500 adult citizens in the U.S. was conducted by YouGov between February 21-24, 2021. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as the 2020 presidential vote and registration status. The margin of error is ±2.7 points.

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