Suffolk Poll Finds Growing Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines

Confidence in newly-approved COVID-19 vaccines is growing as the U.S. rolls out the first wave of shots to frontline healthcare workers, according to a Suffolk University/USA TODAY national poll of registered voters. 

Nearly half (46%) of respondents would take the coronavirus vaccine right away if it were available, up sharply from the 26% who felt that way in a late October Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll. Thirty-two percent said they would wait until others had taken the vaccine, down from 47% in October. 

However, the number of respondents who said they would not take the vaccine remains steady at 20%. According to the most recent poll, among those not willing to take the vaccine right away, nearly 63% said they are worried it is not safe, 14% said they won’t take a vaccine of any kind, and 8% said they don’t believe COVID-19 is a real threat. 

Vaccine acceptance varies widely according to party affiliation: 67% of self-identified Democrats are eager to take the vaccine when available, compared with only 35% of Republican voters. Just 7% of Democrats surveyed will not take the vaccine at all, while 36% of Republicans say they will opt out. 

A majority of those polled (52%) do not believe schools should require that students take the vaccine and over 60% oppose employers mandating that employees take the vaccine.

Holidays

A majority (64%) plan to stay home with immediate family, avoiding travel and gatherings outside of their immediate household. However, 19% will go ahead with some celebrations, limiting the size of gatherings or holding celebrations outdoors. Still, nearly 15% plan to travel as normal and gather with friends and family. 

Methodology

The nationwide Suffolk University/USA Today survey was conducted through live interviews of cell phone and land line users. The survey of 1,000 respondents was conducted December 16-20, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points. Results are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center website. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, [email protected].