A brand new evaluation of KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey information finds that residents of rural America stand out as one of many teams most hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine and that their views concerning the pandemic may pose important challenges for the nation’s mass vaccination effort.
A few third (35%) of individuals residing in rural areas say they most likely or undoubtedly wouldn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine that had been deemed protected and efficient and was out there at no cost, in comparison with a few quarter of suburban (27%) and concrete residents (26%) who say the identical.
Many elements are related to a person’s willingness to get vaccinated, together with their age, degree of training, and, notably, political occasion identification, with Republicans a lot much less more likely to say they’ll get a coronavirus vaccine in comparison with Democrats and independents.
Even after controlling for these elements, nevertheless, individuals residing in rural areas usually tend to be vaccine hesitant than suburban and concrete residents. This, partly, might mirror rural residents’ views of the pandemic.
Whereas rural residents are simply as doubtless as others to say they know somebody who has examined optimistic or died from coronavirus, about 4 in ten (39%) rural residents say they don’t seem to be frightened that they or somebody of their household will get sick from COVID-19 in comparison with 23% of city residents and three in ten suburban residents.
Half (50%) say they imagine the menace COVID-19 poses has been “usually exaggerated” within the information, a perception held by fewer city (27%) and suburban (37%) residents.
Most rural residents (62%) view getting vaccinated as principally a private selection quite than a part of everybody’s duty to guard the well being of others (36%). In distinction, most city residents (55%) and practically half of suburban residents (47%) view getting vaccinated as a part of everybody’s duty.
Who would possibly change rural residents’ views a few vaccine?
Much like city and suburban residents, the overwhelming majority of rural residents (86%) say that they’d belief vaccine info from their very own physician or well being care suppliers. Smaller shares say they belief the FDA (68%), the CDC (66%), their native public well being division (64%), Dr. Anthony Fauci (59%), or state authorities officers (55%).