thevaccinereaction--2020-06-07--Poll Finds Only Half of Americans Plan to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

A recent poll conducted by the Associated Press ’ s NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 20 percent of Americans anticipate that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available to the public before the end of 2020 , while 61 percent expect it during 2021 .
Only 17 percent believe it will take longer than that to develop.1 Significantly , about half of respondents said they either would not get the new coronavirus vaccine or were unsure about whether or not they would take the shot .
The nationwide poll was conducted from May 14-18 , 2020 using the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ panel of survey respondents from households across the United States of NORC at the University of Chicago .
Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,056 adults.2 Half of U.S .
Poll Respondents Will Decline COVID-19 Vaccine or are Unsure if They Want It When respondents were asked whether they would get a coronavirus vaccine should one become available on the market , 49 percent of respondents said they planned to get vaccinated , 20 percent said they would not get vaccinated and 31 percent were not sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ showed that those who are planning to get the vaccine are doing so primarily to protect themselves and their families from the virus .
Many respondents also said they want to protect their community and believe mass vaccination is necessary for life to go “ back to normal.
” 4 The poll found 67 percent of people 60 and older are planning to get vaccinated , compared with 40 percent of younger Americans .
Those with someone in their household who is immune-compromised were also more inclined to say they would get the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent of Americans polled who said they will decline to get the COVID-19 vaccine , about 70 percent cited concern about the vaccine ’ s potential side effects and safety .
Among reasons given for not wanting to get a new COVID-19 were concerns about : • getting infected with the new coronavirus by taking the vaccine ( 42 percent ) ; • becoming seriously ill from the vaccine ( 31 percent ) ; • the vaccine failing to be effective ( 30 percent ) ; and • the belief that the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is ( 24 percent ) .6 In response to the poll , Francis Collins , MD , PhD , director at the National Institutes of Health said that , “ I would not want people to think that we ’ re cutting corners because that would be a big mistake .
I think this is an effort to try to achieve efficiencies , but not to sacrifice rigor.
” 7 American biotechnology company Moderna , Inc. , which is leading the race to be the first company to get a COVID-19 vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( mRNA ) coronavirus vaccine in partnership with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ( NIAID ) .
The FDA gave Moderna approval to begin clinical trials on human subjects in March 2020 , by-passing laboratory animal studies , which is typically the first step when testing vaccine safety.8 Tal Zaks , MD , chief medical officer at Moderna stated that , “ I don ’ t think proving this in an animal model is on the critical path to getting this to a clinical trial , ” 9 Messenger RNA vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use in humans , inject cells with mRNA , usually within lipid nanoparticles , to stimulate cells in the body to become manufacturers of viral proteins.10 According to researchers at University of Pennsylvania and Duke University , mRNA vaccines have potential safety issues , including local and systemic inflammation and stimulation of auto-reactive antibodies and autoimmunity , as well as development of edema ( swelling ) and blood clots.11