Study: Mississippians less likely than most states to get COVID-19 vaccine when ready
Published 5:59 pm Wednesday, December 2, 2020
When it comes to getting a COVID-19 vaccine, a recent study suggests that Mississippi residents are among the least likely to say, ‘No, thank you.’
Analyzing current vaccination rates and access to health care, QuoteWizard researchers ranked the 50 states as to how likely residents would decide to get a vaccine when it becomes available.
Of the 50 states, Mississippi ranked No. 43. Rankings of all 50 states are posted below.
If pharmaceutical companies are able to supply every single American with a vaccine, it’s almost certain to not have a 100% adoption rate. What could determine the adoption rate with the general public is their willingness to receive the vaccine and their health care access to receive it. Using data from the Commonwealth Fund’s Health System, QuoteWizard analyzed adult age-appropriate vaccination rates along with public opinion and access to health care to predict how widely adopted a COVID-19 vaccine will be.
Speculation of vaccinations among Americans is nothing new. A Gallup poll from 1954 asked adults whether they would get the Polio vaccine. Sixty percent responded yes and 31% said no. Flash forward to today, when asked if adults would get the COVID-19 vaccine, 58% responded yes and 42% responded no. With nearly half of Americans unwilling, there’s concern that a vaccine might not effectively reduce the spread of the virus initially. Of those that stated they would not get the COVID-19 vaccination, the majority were in a wait-and-see category. A combination of concern for the rushed timeline for vaccine development and the desire to see confirmation of the vaccine’s effectiveness were among the top reasons Americans said they would not receive the vaccination. And around 10% of Americans cited politicization of the vaccine and a general distrust in vaccinations as reasons for not getting the vaccine.
What may present the greatest challenge to the vaccine’s adoption rate is people’s access to health care to receive the vaccination. While the nationwide push to distribute the vaccine is going to be on a scale like never seen before, many will likely face health care barriers to receive the vaccine. To estimate the adoption of the COVID-19 vaccination, we looked at adult age-appropriate vaccination rates across the country to see where vaccination rates are highest. According to vaccination data compiled by the Commonwealth Fund, only 40% of adults have age-appropriate vaccinations. While many adult vaccinations are optional, a rate of only 40% among adults presents health care challenges to increasing vaccine adoption.
For more on this study go to: https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/vaccination-rates-and-adoption-of-covid-vaccine