A Yahoo News/YouGov poll has found that just 42 percent of Americans are planning to get a coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.
The figure represents an all time low, having fallen from 55 percent in early May, 50 percent in late May, and 46 percent in July.
Summit report: When asked “If and when a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, will you get vaccinated?” many fewer Americans across the political spectrum answered in the affirmative.
Only a majority of Democrats now plan to get vaccinated, with 55% saying they will still take the jab.
Among Republicans, only 37% say they are willing to get vaccinated, with even fewer independents, 34%, willing to take the vaccine.
Assistant professor of biostatistics at the University of Florida Natalie Dean has noted “Why should we expect Americans to agree to a vaccine before one is even available?”
Writing recently in the New York Times, Dean noted “I’m a vaccine researcher, and even I would place myself in the ‘not sure’ bucket.”
“What we have right now is a collection of animal data, immune response data and safety data based on early trials and from similar vaccines for other diseases. The evidence that would convince me to get a COVID-19 vaccine, or to recommend that my loved ones get vaccinated, does not yet exist.” Dean asserted.
On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that it is “realistic” to expect a coronavirus vaccine in the fall, and that it is “very credible” to expect “tens of millions of doses” to become available by the end of the year, and “hundreds of millions” by 2021.
“We have seen, under President Trump’s leadership, the most historic advances in the development of vaccines we have ever seen in human history,” Azar claimed in an interview with Fox News.
“The United States now has six vaccines that we have placed major investments in. Four of them have already reported out positive phase one clinical trial results. And two of them are already in the advanced final phase three studies. Others will advance there soon.” Azar added.
“It’s really just President Trump has marshaled the whole of the U.S. government and our biopharmaceutical industry. It’s incredible,” Azar proclaimed.
