COVID-19 Vaccine
Does the American public have faith in modern medicine?
After nearly nine months of living through the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans are looking forward to the development of a vaccine. Scientists from many different laboratories are releasing data about the promise of a vaccine for the virus that is soon to come. The trials to test the effectiveness of the vaccine are returning with a large majority of positive results.
But, is the American public ready to receive a vaccine in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 Presidential election?
With companies like Pfizer, Moderna and BioNTech reporting that their COVID-19 vaccine trials are demonstrating potentially 95% effectiveness, a national debate over the implementation and distribution of these vaccines has become a hot topic of contention. This is due primarily to the anti-vaccination movement that has become popular among certain groups of Americans, including but not limited to Evangelical Christians and concerned parents.
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, around half of American adults (51%) say that they would be willing to receive the vaccine if it was administered today, as opposed to 72% for the same question asked in May of 2020.
(infographic courtesy of the Pew Research Center)
(infographic courtesy of the Pew Research Center)
This trend is similar for both Republican and Democratic identifying citizens. However, Democrats report higher numbers (58%) of willingness to receive the vaccine than Republicans (44%).
Additionally, adults over the 65+ age range were the most receptive age group to potential vaccination (58%) then any other age group. There is a discrepancy in education levels and willingness to be vaccinated as well, with 63% of post graduates saying they would take the vaccine, as opposed to 47% and 46% for those with a high school education or some level of college education,respectively.
(infographic courtesy of the Pew Research Center)
(infographic courtesy of the Pew Research Center)
Overall, there has been a general decline across all categorized demographics in trust in the vaccination process, which could have potentially negative effects for the United States population as a whole in the long term if people continue to lose faith in the development of the vaccine.
*Photos are taken with courtesy from Daniel Schludi, Charles Deluvio, The National Cancer Institute, and the CDC on Unsplash.com*
*Chart data is provided by the Pew Research Center*
What are the public's concerns?
A cause of concern for many individuals is the potential side effects that the vaccinations could cause. Due to the rapid nature of the development of the vaccine, there is discourse over the standards that the pharmaceutical companies are following when running their testing trials.
Since the full scope of the damage that COVID-19 can cause to individuals in the long term is still relatively unknown, there is a hesitation for many individuals who want to wait until more data is collected before receiving a vaccination.
Additionally, a smaller margin of individuals cited economic concerns as their primary reason for not having faith in the vaccine, worrying that they will be unable to afford it or work with a provider that will be able to meet their needs financially.
Members of the medical community have varying opinions on the vaccination process and their views on how it is affecting the public as well.
“It is critical to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible to stop the spread of the virus so that we can end this pandemic and return to a normal life,” said Brandi Kennedy, who works in the High-Risk Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas.
“As a nurse, I am exhausted. As a mother, I miss my daughter whom I haven’t seen in several months due to restrictions. As a wife, I am terrified for my immunocompromised husband. I want this over as quickly as possible and will do whatever it takes to make that happen."
Kennedy cites the conservative voting bloc as a major reason for the partisan divide regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and public faith in the vaccination process.
"The anti-vaxxers are typically misinformed, overnight amateur epidemiologists who think they suddenly know more than Fauci," said Kennedy.
"I vacillate between being enraged by them or embarrassed for them when I hear or read what they say about COVID and/or the vaccine. Make no mistake, I will blame them, the right-wing politicians, and the sensational media for the extended length of time we will have to deal with COVID due to the influence all will have over people delaying or refusing the vaccine."
Other practitioners in the medical field, like Bonnie Villarreal, a Biomedical and Health Science teacher at Weiss High School in Pflugerville, Texas, are more wary of the vaccine and have expressed a more cautionary understanding of the trial process. Take a look at the exclusive interview below:
Both Kennedy and Villarreal believe that the government is handling the vaccine development in the proper way, however.
“We absolutely should trust the vaccine," says Kennedy. "We have no choice but to trust the science behind it, the scientists who have created it, and brilliant medical leaders who encourage us to get it. There is no conspiracy or politics behind them. These are some of the most brilliant minds in the world working around the clock to help the human race. I trust them.”
As new information about the vaccination process comes out every day, how will the public’s perception and faith in the system change over time?
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*Photos are courtesy of
GQ stocks and
Daniels Schludi*
