Despite the growing number of research and studies being released to prove that the COVID-19 vaccines work, the views of the number of Americans who refused to get the vaccine have not changed. And with the approval and introduction of booster shots, unvaccinated Americans falsely claim that the move proves that “the vaccines do not work.”
While vaccinated Americans say that the approval of a third dose of the vaccine shows that scientists are trying to make the shots more effective, a survey released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 71% of unvaccinated Americans claim that “it is proof that the vaccines don’t work,” CNBC reported.
About 80% of respondents who already received the vaccine consider the booster shots as a great sign.
Americans Have Different Views On Pandemic And Unvaccinated Are The ‘Strongest Holdouts’
According to Liz Hamel, the foundation’s director of public opinion and survey research, the survey showed different views of the vaccinated and unvaccinated group regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s not really surprising to me that they view the conversation around booster shots differently,” she said.
Hamel also said that those who are not yet getting the COVID-19 vaccine shots are considered the “strongest holdouts” and that the unvaccinated group is expected to believe that the “pandemic has been exaggerated.” They are also not as worried about acquiring the virus or getting sick.
The unvaccinated group also viewed the safety and efficacy of the vaccines differently compared to the vaccinated group.
Kaiser’s Latest Research Surveyed 1,519 Random Adults
From Sept. 13 to Sept. 22, Kaiser surveyed 1,519 adults selected at random after the Biden Administration released their plans of administering booster shots to all Americans. The survey was done before federal health officials recommended the shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of getting the virus.
The survey data, which showed a split belief towards the vaccines continues to be largely partisan. At least 90% of respondents who are Democrats said that they have received at least a dose of the vaccine compared to the 58% of Republicans, the survey data showed.
According to Hamel, the partition by political identity stayed stable at about 30% since vaccines became widely accessible during the spring, even as other gaps along racial lines and ethnicity have narrowed.
Delta Variant Forced More Americans To Get The Vaccines
As the highly contagious Delta variant continues to bring a surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, it has become the main driving force for a recent increase in vaccinations.
The survey found that vaccination rates among Hispanic adults and Americans ages 18 to 29 have the largest increase between July and September.
While the increase in vaccination rates between the white, Black, and Hispanic adults was reported at 71%, 70%, and 73% respectively. The groups said that they have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Hamel also mentioned that in a separate Kaiser analysis of state-reported data published last week, Black and Hispanic Americans were reported to be “still more hesitant to get the vaccine compared to white Americans.” But, the gap across the groups has been narrowing over time.
The political division on the COVID-19 vaccines expands to the public’s plans to receive the booster shot. 68% of Democrats said that they will “definitely” get the booster shot if it is recommended, almost twice the share of Republican respondents.
Within the fully vaccinated adults, most of them said that they would “definitely” or “probably” get the booster shot if it is recommended by the CDC and FDA.
COVID-19 has so far infected 44,199,496 people and claimed 713,953 lives in the United States, according to worldometer data.
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