The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that hesitancy to get the COVID-19 vaccine had dipped between September 2020 and December 2020, though only about half of U.S. adults said they intended to get the shots.
The CDC reported that the percentage of adults who were certain or very likely to get the coronavirus vaccine increased to 49% in December, up from 39% in September. Meanwhile, about 66% of adults 65 and older, who are among the most vulnerable in the population to severe illness, said they were certain or very likely to get the shots. The report also found that the percentage of people who were unlikely to get the shots had decreased in that same time period from 38% in September to 32% in December.
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About 30% of those who said they would not get the shots cited concerns about safety, while 14% said they would wait to get the shots to see how they were tolerated in other people first. About 12% said they would skip the shots due to lack of trust in the government approval process, while slightly over 10% said they believed the vaccines were developed too quickly to be trusted.
The agency argued that persistent apprehension about the shots signals a need for trusted sources, such as healthcare providers, to tailor information to the public about their concerns.
“Health care providers are known to be a trusted source of information about vaccines for many persons and can … have effective conversations with patients about the need for vaccination,” the CDC said. “Ensuring high and equitable vaccination coverage in all populations is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and bringing an end to the pandemic.”
