As the U.S. began its slow creep out of winter, some other spring-like news hit over the weekend with the announcement that the FDA green-lit Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine. The one-shot doses – which are being distributed across the country as of this writing – can be stored via regular cold storage refrigeration, making distribution somewhat easier.
With cases potentially starting to increase again (or at least stalling) after declining substantially this year, the race to vaccinate is (still) on. The CDC just issued a grave warning that there is a potential the U.S. will experience a fourth surge of the coronavirus before the majority of the country is vaccinated. With bad weather having delayed some vaccination efforts across the country in recent weeks, it looks like things are starting to pick up again, according to CivicScience data on the matter.
The percentage of people who plan to get the vaccine right away did reach a ceiling, and continues to decline as recipients increase.
Another survey, launched just after the FDA news broke, shows that if given the option, Americans who are still waiting their turn for the vaccine would prefer the single Johnson & Johnson dose to Pfizer or Moderna’s two-dose shot. Of these vaccine intenders, it appears the majority have a preference (more than half), while those who do not are in the minority.
Older Americans are much more likely to have a vaccine preference than other age groups. Younger Americans, on the other hand, are more likely to have no preference. This is likely due to the fact that they are more likely to say they don’t have plans to get the vaccine at all. Americans aged 45 to 64 are the most keen on the Johnson & Johnson produced vaccine.
When segmenting by the most recent data, women are more likely than men to have already received a dose so far. Females are also more likely to be preferential to the Johnson & Johnson dose, while men with an opinion are slightly more likely to say they prefer Pfizer’s.
Another poll found that among people who plan to get the vaccine but haven’t yet, opinions are split on the timing of when they’ll receive their dose(s). Most say they expect to get vaccinated either by the end of this spring or summer.
The more concerned people are about being in public spaces right now due to COVID-19, the more optimistic their view on when they expect to be able to receive the vaccine themselves.
But, in general, most Americans believe that vaccine distribution in the country is moving at a snail’s pace.
Of course, those who have already gotten at least one dose are more likely to be happy with the rollout, whereas those who say they don’t plan to get the vaccine at all show strong concerns about the distribution being too fast.
As vaccination continues, you may see (or have already seen) images of people getting their shots pop up on your social media feeds. According to CivicScience polling, most social media users remain neutral toward this kind of content from their friends and connections, while one-fourth are favorable and another fourth unfavorable.
For economic recovery, it will be important to distinguish between those who will be waiting to get back to normal activities like dining, working out at the gym, and the like until they get their doses, and those who aren’t. CivicScience will be looking into the vaccine’s impact on several industries in a study next week.
