Unvaccinated Americans widely believe that the COVID-19 vaccine is riskier than the novel coronavirus itself, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
- The finding comes as the United States has hit a plateau for COVID-19 vaccinations, even as the more transmissible delta variant of the virus continues to circulate through the country.
- Per Yahoo News, the poll result “contradicts all available science and data and underscores the challenges that the United States will continue to face as it struggles to stop a growing ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ driven by the hyper-contagious delta variant.”
How do people feel about the COVID-19 vaccine?
According to Yahoo News, the poll found 29% of unvaccinated Americans believe the virus poses a greater risk than the vaccine. However, 37% feel the vaccine is riskier, while 34% remain unsure.
- In total, 93% of unvaccinated people surveyed in the Yahoo News poll said they would either never get the vaccine or they will wait to see what happens to others before they do.
Why don’t people want to get the vaccination?
The Yahoo News poll also looked into why people aren’t getting vaccinated. It found several reasons among the survey participants, including:
- There isn’t easy access to a vaccination site (4%).
- People can’t get time off from work (3%).
- Some already had COVID-19 (9%).
- People aren’t worried about getting COVID-19 (12%).
- Others don’t trust the COVID-19 vaccine (45%).
The vaccine continues to be safe
Experts continue to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine as a way to stay safe from the novel coronavirus and as a way to help stop the spread of the virus. In fact, experts at Yale Medicine said the easiest way to stop the delta variant is to get vaccinated.
- “Like everything in life, this is an ongoing risk assessment,” Dr. Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist and a vaccinologist, told Yale Medicine. “If it is sunny and you’ll be outdoors, you put on sunscreen. If you are in a crowded gathering, potentially with unvaccinated people, you put your mask on and keep social distancing. If you are unvaccinated and eligible for the vaccine, the best thing you can do is to get vaccinated.”
Similarly, The Wall Street Journal reported on data from a United Kingdom study that found the vaccines appear to be working well to stop variants.
- “The vaccines are as good as first heralded, even against new variants,” The Wall Street Journal reports.