New Poll Shows Americans Growing Skeptical of Coronavirus Vaccine

As our nation continues to face the effects of a lengthy coronavirus lockdown, most notably the terrifying economic toll that hasn’t quite sunk in just yet, we have but two ways out of this mess:  Offense or defense.

Currently, we’re attempting defense by default.  Social distancing and face masks are our only really option at this time, as neither a vaccine or provably effective treatment has been discovered.  Those are the sort of tools that we’ll need at our exposure in order to get on offense.

Currently, there are a number of vaccines in the works by a number of different companies, none of which have passed the all-too-crucial tests needed for widespread, public consumption.  But, even if one had made the cut, the American people don’t seem all that interested in getting one.

By the numbers: Six in 10 Americans now say they don’t want to take a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it’s available, up from 53% at the end of August.

• Their reluctance also intensified. Only 9% now say they’re “very likely” to take the first-generation vaccine, down from 17% in August; 33% say they’re “not at all likely” to take it, up from 26%.

• A plurality of respondents — 30% — said they plan to get it a few months after the vaccine first becomes available

• 13% would try to get it immediately; 16% would get it after a few weeks, 18% said they’d likely wait a year or more and 23% said they wouldn’t get it at all.

• Men remain more likely than women to take the first generation vaccine, while Black Americans are about half as likely as Hispanics or whites to take it.

The news comes as wild conspiracy theories have flooded the internet regarding a possible coronavirus vaccine, further casting doubt on the efficacy or intention of such a development.

What is more concerning still is whether or not proof of having received some sort of vaccine will become a prerequisite for public activities in the near future.