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A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that a quarter of Americans have “little to no interest” in taking a coronavirus vaccine and are skeptical that the safety of the vaccine could be compromised based on the rate of which vaccines are being developed amid the outbreak.
Of those surveyed, 36 percent also said they would be “less willing” to take a coronavirus vaccine that President Trump “said was safe,” compared to the 14 percent who said they would be “more interested” based on the president’s advice.
The poll, which surveyed 4,428 adults between May 13 and May 19, pointed to a consistent lack of trust between pollsters and the president.
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Most of the survey’s pollsters said they would be “heavily influenced by guidance from the Food and Drug Administration [FDA].”
According to Reuters, at least 70 percent of Americans would need to reach immunity, either from vaccination or by previously having the virus, in order for the country to reach “herd immunity.”
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Health experts agree that a vaccine needs to be developed in order for Americans to return to normal life. Trump has pledged to have a vaccine developed by the end of the year.
Experts also pointed to misinformation on social media as the reason why the public remains skeptical of a vaccination.
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“It’s not surprising a significant percentage of Americans are not going to take the vaccine because of the terrible messaging we’ve had, the absence of a communication plan around the vaccine and this very aggressive anti-vaccine movement,” said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
The majority of the polls’ responders said they agree that “vaccines for diseases such as measles are safe for both adults and children.”
Experts believe the pollsters who are on the fence about whether or not they would take a vaccine could probably be persuaded.