Census Bureau polls show that 1 in 5 Utahns will not get the COVID-19 vaccine.

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About 1 in 5 Utahns who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine say they may not receive one.

(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) Kenley Hansen receives a COVID-19 vaccination from Kirsten Weber while Utah County residents line up at a former Shopko store in Spanish Fork on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

| January 29, 2021, 6:40 p.m.

| Updated: 7:36 p.m.

Despite Herculean efforts to obtain more COVID-19 vaccines and distribute them as soon as possible, one in five Utahns who have not yet been inoculated says they will certainly or will not receive a shot themselves.

Their reasons range from not trusting the government to believing that vaccines are effective, worrying about side effects and wanting to wait to see if it is safe. Some altruistic people say they think others need vaccines more than themselves.

According to surveys conducted by the US Census Bureau on January 6-18. It is part of surveys conducted in each state to measure the effects of the pandemic on health, economic and other.
The findings come as officials have asked Utahns to be vaccinated whenever possible. They say that the faster people are inoculated, the faster the state can get the herd’s immunity and return to normal. They also said that vaccines are relatively safe and worth any small risk to avoid COVID-19.

In Utah, the survey found that 52.3% of residents who are yet to be vaccinated said they “certainly” intend to receive the vaccine. Utah ranked 22nd among the states in this category and slightly above the national average 0f 50.9%. Another 26% said they would “probably” get hit.

However, 8% said they “certainly” will not. Another 13% said they “probably” won’t. So overall, 21% of Utahs who haven’t been vaccinated yet say they’ll probably or certainly skip photos.

The researchers estimated that about 75% of the population must acquire immunity to the virus – either from vaccines or through disease survival – to stop transmission and gain herd immunity. Therefore, Utah would be above this level if these results were valid.

Some groups reported in the survey that they are more likely than others to avoid the vaccine.

The older the respondents, the more likely they were to want the vaccine. For example, about 73% of Utahns aged 65 and over say they definitely intend to take a hit. But only 40% of those aged between 18 and 24 do so.

The more education a respondent reported, the more likely they are to want a shot.

The survey showed that 63% of Utahns who have at least a bachelor’s degree certainly intend to receive one, while only 31% of those with less high school education do so.

Different races have reported a different level of interest in receiving the vaccine. Asians in Utah had the highest percentage of people who say they definitely intend to receive the vaccine, 68%. This number was 55% for Hispanics, 54% for whites and only 19% for blacks.

The survey allowed people to list one or more reasons why they did not intend to get a vaccine. Some of the main reasons included:

• 49% said they were worried about possible side effects.

• 48% said they intend to wait to see if it is safe.

• 35% said other people need him more right now.

• 19% said they did not trust COVID-19 vaccines.

• 19% said they do not know if a vaccine will work.

• 17% said they did not trust the government.

• 17% said they do not think they need a vaccine.

• 9% said they did not like vaccines.

The survey interviewed 2,085 Utah residents. The census bureau said the results for the general group are considered accurate, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points, plus or minus. Subsets, such as age, race, and education, have larger margins of error and vary.

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