NEW YORK (Reuters) – A growing number of Americans want to receive the coronavirus vaccine, and a majority also support restrictions on work, lifestyle and travel for those not inoculated with COVID. 19, according to a Reuters / Ipsos poll published on Friday.
The national opinion poll of 1,005 people, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, suggested that the pace of vaccinations could increase as more vaccines become available and more people want them.
In total, 54% of respondents said they were “very interested” in getting vaccinated. This resulted from a January survey, when 41% expressed the same level of interest and 38% in a May 2020 survey before developing a coronavirus vaccine.
Interest in the vaccine has increased in the last year among whites and racial minorities, with about six in 10 whites and five in 10 members of minority groups now expressing a high level of interest.
Twenty-seven percent of Americans said they were not interested in getting vaccinated, which was relatively unchanged from a similar survey in May.
However, predicting the social challenges that may arise as the United States begins to withdraw from the one-year pandemic, the latest survey showed that most Americans want to limit the ways in which unvaccinated people can mix in public.
Seventy-two percent of Americans said it was important to know “whether people around me were vaccinated,” according to the survey.
A majority – 62% – said unvaccinated people should not be allowed to travel by plane. Fifty-five percent agreed that unvaccinated people should not train in public gyms, enter cinemas or attend public concerts.
When asked about their jobs, 60% of Americans said they wanted to work for an employer “who requires everyone to get vaccinated with coronavirus before returning to work,” and 56% said unvaccinated workers should stay home.
“DIFFERENT CONDITION”
Companies may soon feel increasing pressure to address these concerns. About 18 percent of the U.S. population has already received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and President Joe Biden said in a televised speech Thursday night that he will guide states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1st.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, a scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the answers to the survey made sense, given the social restrictions imposed on everyone in the past year.
“People say, ‘If I’m vaccinated, it’ll change my life,'” Adalja said. “And if you are not vaccinated, this is your choice. But you will be in a different status, because you could be the carrier of this virus, so you can spread it to another unvaccinated person. ”
The results of the poll were somewhat divided on the party line. Republicans, who have generally been less concerned than others in the last year of coronavirus, have also been less supportive than Democrats at work and lifestyle restrictions for the unvaccinated, according to the survey.
However, even among Republicans, four in 10 said they say people without vaccines do not go to gyms or movie theaters. Five out of 10 Republicans believe vaccines should be needed for air travel.
The Reuters / Ipsos survey was conducted online in English throughout the United States. It had a credibility range, a precision measure of 4 percentage points.
Reporting by Chris Kahn; Montage by Peter Cooney