Public trust, willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19

Editor's Note

This study by researchers in the United Kingdom finds that despite declines in hesitancy to be vaccinated against COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy remains high in young adults and Black and low socioeconomic status individuals.

A total of 7,420 participants provided 42,154 survey responses to the Understanding America Study (UAS) of US adults between October 14, 2020, and March 29, 2021.

During this time, estimates of vaccine hesitancy declined significantly by 10.8%. Significant declines were observed across demographic groups, with a 15.8% decrease among Hispanics and a 20.9% decrease among Blacks.

Despite gains, however, in March 2021 hesitancy was still high among adults aged 18-39 years (44.1%), those without a degree (42.9%), households earning $50,000 or less (43.7%), and Blacks (43.0%).

Further steps are needed to build public trust, extend outreach and educational programs, and increase opportunities for vaccination, the authors say.