Fewer people than ever would be willing to get a vaccine for the coronavirus if one were available right now.
According to a Gallup poll taken by 2,730 randomly selected adults between Sept. 14-27, only 50% of respondents said they would be vaccinated, down 11% from the July high of 66%.
Meanwhile, more people than ever, 26%, said that a vaccine is important for returning to their normal day-to-day activities, up from a March low of 7%. A similar proportion, 27%, “are ready to resume their normal activities right now.”
The drop in willingness to be vaccinated, the sharpest drop since the question was first posed to respondents in July, came predominantly from Democrats. Willingness among Republicans to get a vaccine increased. In July, 83% of Democrats said that they would get a vaccine for the coronavirus — today, only 53% said that they would. The share of independents who would get vaccinated experienced a similar but less precipitous drop, from 59% in July to 47%.
Though still below Democrat’s current willingness to get vaccinated for COVID-19, at 49%, Republicans’ willingness to get vaccinated represents an increase from an August low of 37%.
The decrease in willingness to get a coronavirus vaccine comes amid Democrats repeatedly stating that they would not trust a vaccine produced during the Trump administration.
“I will not take his word for it,” Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris said. “He’s looking at an election coming up in less than 60 days, and he’s grasping to get whatever he can to pretend he has been a leader on this issue when he is not.”
Though former Vice President Joe Biden has emphasized that he would get a vaccine if it were available, he told a Wilmington, Delaware, crowd, “Let me be clear: I trust vaccines. I trust scientists. But I don’t trust Donald Trump,” according to NPR.
Biden and Harris also wrote a joint statement expressing concern regarding the development of a vaccine. “We cannot allow a repeat of Trump’s testing and personal protective equipment fiascos when it comes to a COVID-19 vaccine,” they wrote.
Gallup’s analysis notes that the Trump administration has since changed its expectations for when a vaccine will be available for distribution from Nov. 1, two days ahead of Election Day. Administration officials now expect a vaccine could be available in January 2021.
