Roundup of Recent Gallup Data on Vaccines - Gallup Poll

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Prior to last week's announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech that its COVID-19 vaccine may have a 90% effectiveness rate, Gallup polling revealed a number of insights about Americans' views on a coronavirus vaccine and vaccines generally that could still inform how vaccines can be most effectively rolled out to the public. Here is a quick review of five key points from Gallup's research.

1. The Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of recovery study finds that, among many potential personal characteristics such as age, income and political affiliation, the most significant predictor of whether someone will get the COVID-19 vaccine is if they took the flu vaccine last year. Race and ethnicity are also important drivers of vaccine acceptance, with Black adults being less likely to report they will get the vaccine.

Americans' Willingness to Take A COVID-19 Vaccine Among Key Demographic Groups

Would you agree to be vaccinated with the COVID vaccine?*

	Yes	No/Don't know
	%	%
Age
18-24	43	58
25-34	38	62
35-44	46	54
45-54	40	60
55-64	45	55
65+	55	45
Political affiliaiton
Democrat	50	50
Republican	45	55
Independent	43	57
Race/Ethnicity
White adults	46	54
Black adults	31	69
Hispanic adults	48	52
Asian adults	56	44
Income
Less than $24,000	33	67
$24,000-$59,999	41	59
$60,000-$119,000	49	51
$120,000+	67	33
Gender
Male	56	44
Female	35	65
Received flu vaccine last year
Yes	63	37
No	27	73
* Due to rounding, all percentages may not add up to 100%.
Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study, Oct. 1-9, 2020

2. An experiment in the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Survey finds vaccination acceptance would increase if the vaccine is released in early 2021, as compared with a 2020 release. Acceptance would also increase when respondents receive reassuring information about the approval process, side effects and efficacy, and if the vaccine is provided at no cost. Although, even with these and other acceptance-boosting conditions in place, the research suggests just over 60% of the adult population would accept the vaccine.

Additional Factors That Would Affect Respondents' Likelihood of Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine

Percentage of respondents who previously said they would not get the vaccine, but say one of the following factors would have a MAJOR IMPACT on their likelihood of getting the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available

	All respondents	Democrats	Republicans	Independents
	%	%	%	%
Your doctor recommends the vaccine	19	23	15	18
The vaccine is available for free	21	25	18	19
You can get the vaccine at your local pharmacy	15	18	13	14
The CDC recommends the vaccine	18	24	13	17
Your state's public health department recommends the vaccine	15	21	11	13
President Donald Trump recommends the vaccine	10	10	12	9
Any of the above	36	45	31	33
Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study, Oct. 1-9, 2020

3. Even prior to COVID-19, some Americans were skeptical about the safety of vaccines, generally, and the importance of childhood vaccinations. In 2018, the Wellcome Global Monitor found 72% agreed vaccines were safe, another 11% disagreed and 17% neither agreed nor disagreed. And U.S. adults and parents have been even more skeptical than others on the safety of these vaccines. The Wellcome Global Monitor found 60% of parents strongly agreed vaccines are safe, compared with 78% of those who are not parents. Similarly, a 2019 Gallup study found a significant portion of U.S. adults felt unsure if vaccinations caused autism (they do not). These data suggest COVID-19 vaccination among children may prove even more difficult given the more rapid nature of the COVID-19 vaccine development and longstanding questions about vaccine safety for children among many U.S. adults.

Do you agree, disagree, or neither agree nor disagree with the following statement? Vaccines are safe.

Asked of adults who have heard of vaccines

	Agree	Disagree	Neither agree nor disagree
	%	%	%
France	47	33	20
Russia	45	24	32
Germany	67	13	20
U.S.	72	11	17
U.K.	75	9	16
Japan	34	8	58
China	72	8	19
Percentages of people who answer Strongly agree/Somewhat agree, Strongly disagree/Somewhat disagree, and Neither agree nor disagree; Countries listed are home to a large percentage of the world's researchers
Wellcome Global Monitor

4. Even if a vaccine were available in Spring 2021, the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study finds many Americans still anticipate they will be slow to resume "normal" pre-COVID-19 activities.

Americans Willingness to Return to Activities if a COVID-19 Vaccine Is Available This Spring

	Return to normal habits
	%
Spending	55
Attending large gatherings	48
Favoring opening schools	62
Traveling by car	81
Traveling by air	52
Working away from home	64
Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study, Oct 1-9, 2020

5. According to a September Gallup Panel survey, half of U.S. adults report they would get the COVID-19 vaccine --the lowest rate since Gallup first began asking about the vaccination in July of 2020 when two-thirds of Americans said they would agree to vaccination if the FDA-approved vaccine were available at no cost.

The acceptance rate is relatively similar to the percentage of U.S. adults who actually get the flu vaccine each year.

Line graph. Americans' willingness to be vaccinated for COVID-19. 50% of Americans were willing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in September of this year, down from 61% at the end of August.

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Author(s)

Stephanie Marken is Executive Director of Education Research at Gallup.