TOP HIGHLIGHTS:
* 66% in Kansas City metro are likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine
* This falls short of the minimum 75% target public health experts want
* Democrats more likely to get vaccinated
* Only 9% polled say they have been infected with the virus
With the recent news of the US FDA authorizing two coronavirus vaccines for emergency use, a local Kansas City poll was conducted in December and 66% indicated they are likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine (see here for the full report). This poll aligns with a recent national poll conducted in late November / early December by NPR that found 71% of respondents said they would get vaccinated.
As we continue our series of analyzing our Kansas City December COVID-19 Poll findings, we want to take a deeper look at whether the percentage of those likely to get vaccinated will be enough for our community and the rest of the country to reach herd immunity.
So how many of the population needs to be vaccinated for herd immunity and where do we currently stand before the release of the vaccines?
According to a recent statement by Dr. Fauci, the nation’s senior official for infectious disease, it is his desire to have 75 to 85% get vaccinated, which suggests more people will require convincing based on our poll that 66% of Kansas City would likely to get vaccinated. So which demographic will require the most convincing?
AGE, EDUCATION AND POLITICAL AFFILIATION TOP VACCINE INDICATORS
The good news is the majorities across most demographic groups are likely to get immunized, but some are more likely than others. Impressively, Democrats’ likely to get vaccinated topped all political groups at 92% followed by Independents (60%) and Republicans (54%). However, respondents who considered themselves not affiliated with the three main political parties are the least likely to vaccinated at 35% with only 6% of adults aged 50 – 64 within this group say that would get the vaccine.
A notable difference also exists among education level where those with bachelor and graduate degrees or higher say they are more likely to get vaccinated (75% and 80%, respectively) compared to those without a college degree (62% or below). Additionally, 59% of adults aged 65 or older say they would get immunized compared to 76% of adults aged 29 or younger. At the same time, women overall are less likely than men to get vaccinated at 61% compared to 71%.
HOW MANY HAVE BEEN INFECTED SO FAR?
Only 9% of Kansas Citians say they’ve been infected with coronavirus. Among those polled, Independents have the highest infection rate at 14% compared to 10% of Republicans and only 6% of Democrats, which possibly suggests Democrats are taking more precautions based on having the highest concern about the spread of the virus compared to all other parties.
BOTTOM LINE
We are currently far from returning to normalcy based on only 9% polled say they are currently or have been infected with the virus, which supports the case that obtaining herd immunity without vaccines is extremely challenging.
Kansas City will need to sway more public opinion to get vaccinated as current polls suggest the city is short on reaching Dr. Fauci’s target of 75 to 85%. Key demographics that may take extra convincing include adults without a college degree, age 65 or older and those unaffiliated with a Democratic, Republican or Independent political party.
Time will tell if the public confidence in a vaccine will grow or not. We’ll plan to conduct another poll in early 2021 to see if Kansas City’s opinions about coronavirus and the vaccine have changed.
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