Vice President Mike Pence received his COVID-19 vaccination on national television today, in what looked like an effort to calm the concerns of the Republican base that the vaccine is safe.
The Kaiser Family Foundation has been monitoring pubic attitudes about the COVID-19 vaccines, to find out how receptive Americans are to getting the vaccine.
In the KFF research, hesitancy among Republicans is at 42 percent, much higher than the national average.
The percentage of Americans who are receptive to the vaccine is growing. 71 percent say they will take the jab, compared to only 63 percent in a September survey that was conducted in partnership with ESPN.
About 27 percent of the general public remains hesitant, saying they either won’t get the vaccine if it’s available to them for free and considered safe by scientists.
The Must Read Alaska poll on Facebook is yielding a different result. Of the over 1,000 who took part in the MRAK poll in a 16-hour period, more than 850 said they do not trust the vaccine, while fewer than 60 said they do.
The MRAK poll is not scientific and the readership of the Must Read Alaska Facebook page leans Republican.
Nationally, vaccine hesitancy tends to reflect political leanings. In the KFF poll, of those ages 30-49, just 36% were hesitant to take the vaccine, and 35% of black adults said they definitely or probably would not get vaccinated. One third of those who say they are categorized as essential workers and 29 percent of those working in health care are also hesitant.
