Vaccine Update: CDC Study Says Only Half Of US Intends To Be Inoculated

Only about half of U.S. adults say they’re willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

From September to December, the number of people saying they were willing to get one shot went up from 39.4 percent to 49.1 percent, the report stated.

The polls were conducted before vaccine distribution began. The CDC noted that, as of Monday (Feb. 9), 59.3 million doses of the vaccine had been distributed.

However, in the lead-up to the vaccines eventually being ready by the end of 2020, large groups of people were hesitant about them. That changed the longer the survey went on, the CDC reported, with the number of people considering themselves “absolutely certain, very likely, or somewhat likely to be vaccinated” going from 61.9 percent in September to 68 percent by December.

“Younger adults, women, non-Hispanic Black (Black) persons, adults living in nonmetropolitan areas, and adults with lower educational attainment, with lower income, and without health insurance” were the categories of people most likely to express a lack of interest in the vaccine, the CDC said in the report.

Meanwhile, the intent to receive a vaccine saw an upsurge in adults 65 years and older by 17.1 percentage points from 49.1 percent to 66.2 percent; in essential workers by 8.8 points from 37.1 percent to 45.9 percent; and among adults with underlying medical conditions aged 18 to 64 by 5.3 points, from 36.5 percent to 41.8 percent.

The advent of vaccines was expected to push American society back on a road to normal, but delays in the implementation have pushed that probability back, PYMNTS reported. Firms around the country have been postponing the end of their projected work-from-home dates from July through September of this year.

Microsoft, Target, Ford Motor Company and The New York Times have joined firms like Google, Uber, Slack, Stripe, Salesforce, Zillow, Amazon, Apple and Airbnb in delaying the return of employees for in-person work until next summer.