Fewer people than ever would be willing to get a vaccine for the coronavirus if one were available right now.
According to a Gallup poll taken by 2,730 randomly selected adults between Sept. 14 and Sept. 27, only 50% of respondents said they would be vaccinated, down 11 percentage points from the July high of 66%.
The apprehension to get vaccinated could foil government efforts to inoculate the majority of the U.S. population, which government health officials say is the only way to return to the pre-pandemic normal.
Meanwhile, more people than ever, 26%, said that a vaccine is important for returning to their normal day-to-day activities, up from a March low of 7%. A similar proportion, 27%, “are ready to resume their normal activities right now.”
The drop in a willingness to be vaccinated, the sharpest drop since the question was first posed to respondents in July, came predominantly from Democrats. Willingness among Republicans to get a vaccine increased. In July, 83% of Democrats said that they would get a vaccine for the coronavirus — today, only 53% said that they would. The share of independents who would get vaccinated experienced a similar but less precipitous drop, from 59% in July to 47%.
Though still below Democrats’ current willingness to get vaccinated for COVID-19, at 49%, Republicans’ willingness to get vaccinated represents an increase from an August low of 37%.
To date, nearly 7.8 million coronavirus infections have been confirmed in the United States, making up roughly 21% of global cases. Almost 215,000 deaths have been confirmed in the U.S.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, pledged to remain on the coronavirus task force while demanding that the Trump campaign stop “harassing” him. After a campaign ad took Fauci’s comments on President Trump’s coronavirus response “out of context,” he said that if he was featured in another commercial, it could “come back to backfire” on Trump’s campaign. Fauci then clarified to the Daily Beast that not in his “wildest freakin dreams” would he consider quitting the task force charged with ending the coronavirus outbreak.
“By doing this against my will, they are in effect harassing me,” Fauci said. “Since campaign ads are about getting votes, their harassment of me might have the opposite effect of turning some voters off.”
Abbott received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its “highly reliable” COVID-19 antibody blood test on Monday. The test will detect a type of antibody called Immunoglobulin in blood samples to determine whether a person has been exposed to the coronavirus and may have been infected. That specific antibody is longer-lasting in the body after infection, but it is more useful for determining a recent exposure to the coronavirus as these antibodies become undetectable weeks to months following an infection, Abbott said in a statement.
Health authorities in Qingdao, China, have started a five-day campaign to test all of the city’s 9.5 million residents after it recorded the country’s first locally transmitted cases of the virus in nearly two months, the New York Times reported. Officials said all of the cases confirmed as of Sunday appeared to be linked to the Qingdao Chest Hospital, which has been treating people who test positive for the virus after arriving in China from abroad.
Demand for coronavirus tests in Washington, D.C., following the White House outbreak skyrocketed last week to 15,875, according to John Falcicchio, the chief of staff for Mayor Muriel Bowser. The weekly average is about 10,000.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsay Graham, a South Carolina Republican, submitted into the record Monday confirmation that the hearing room in which Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be questioned was compliant with CDC safety protocols as Democrats criticized the GOP for forging ahead with a hearing in the midst of a pandemic.
“I made a decision to try to make the room as safe as possible, but to come to work,” Graham said. “Millions of Americans are going to work today. Somebody may have tested positive in a restaurant, military unit, fire department, or police department. You make it as safe as possible. You manage the risk, and you go to work.”
Russia announced that its coronavirus vaccine, which has already been approved for general use, will be undergoing a Phase 3 trial in the United Arab Emirates.
The vaccine, dubbed “Sputnik V,” has generated controversy because the Russian Ministry of Health approved its use in August despite no Phase 3 trials being completed. Phase 3 trials are conducted to determine the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine.
The UAE follows Belarus in agreeing to participate in a Phase 3 trial. The website dedicated to Sputnik V states that a trial of 40,000 Russians is also underway.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has the authority to issue a statewide mask mandate, according to a state court. St. Croix County Judge Michael Waterman sided with Evers, a Democrat, against the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. The institute sought an injunction after Evers reinstituted the mandate after the first one expired at the end of 60 days. “The 60-day limit provides an important check against run-away executive power, but it does not prevent the governor from issuing a new executive order when the emergency conditions continue to exist,” Waterman wrote.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new system for local coronavirus restrictions Monday, which divides the United Kingdom into areas with one of three threat categories (medium, high, and very high) depending on rates of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.
“This could lead to further restrictions on the hospitality, leisure, entertainment, or personal care sectors,” Johnson told Parliament Monday.
Most of the U.K. will fall under the “medium” alert level, which consists of existing coronavirus restrictions such as maximum capacity gatherings at six people and mandatory hospitality closures at 10 p.m. The “high” and “very high” levels will apply to specific areas of the country experiencing higher levels of infection. The Liverpool city region will move to “very high” from Wednesday, meaning the closure of pubs and bars.
“I know how difficult this is. They like, like everyone in the house, us, are grappling with very real dilemmas. But we cannot let the [National Health Service] fall over when lives are at stake,” Johnson said.
Researchers from the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness reported Monday in the Virology Journal that the coronavirus can survive for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass screens on mobile phones and currency made of a type of plastic such as the type used in Australia at room temperature, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The virus survived less than a day in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious on surfaces for long periods of time, reinforcing the need for good practices such as regular hand washing and cleaning surfaces,” Debbie Eagles, the deputy director of the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness and a co-author of the findings, told Bloomberg Monday.
