Yahoo Finance Unvaccinated Americans believe vaccines are more dangerous than Covid-19, says survey
A worrying number of unvaccinated Americans believe coronavirus vaccines are more dangerous than Covid-19 itself, a latest survey has found.
The survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation on Wednesday said unvaccinated adults, especially those who say they will “definitely not” get a vaccine, are much less worried about the coronavirus and its Delta variant, and have less confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines compared to those who are vaccinated.
It said, “unvaccinated adults, especially those who say they will definitely not get a vaccine, are more likely to believe that getting the vaccine is a bigger risk to their own health than getting the virus.”
Nine in ten of those who say they will “definitely not” get the vaccine are either “not too worried” or “not at all worried” about getting sick from the coronavirus. “Three-fourths of this group say getting the Covid-19 vaccine is a greater risk to their health than becoming infected with the coronavirus,” the survey said.
The survey, which was conducted between 15 and 27 July among a telephone sample of 1,517 adults, including 322 Hispanic and 300 non-Hispanic Black people, said a “majority of vaccinated adults (61 per cent)” are not worried about getting sick from the coronavirus.
It said three in ten adults remain unvaccinated, including one in ten who say they want to “wait and see” how the vaccine works for other people before getting vaccinated.
According to the survey, 14 per cent say they will “definitely not” get a vaccine, a share that has held relatively steady since December. It said that women are more likely to report being vaccinated than men.
It also highlights that “mask-wearing has become a partisan issue” during the pandemic with majorities of Republicans saying they never wear a mask outdoors in crowded places, outdoors with friends and household members, at work, or in a grocery store.
“Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to report wearing a mask in all of these locations, except when outdoors with household members and friends,” said the survey.
The survey said that the increase in Covid-19 cases and news of the Delta variant spreading in the US has made some people say they are more likely to wear a mask in public or avoid large gatherings, though “this is mainly driven by vaccinated adults”.
Since the start of the pandemic, the US has recorded over 35 million cases of Covid-19 including over 609,000 deaths – both are the highest in the world. Over the past weeks, it has witnessed a spike in daily cases of coronavirus which is being attributed mainly to the spread of the Delta variant.
