Poll: Half of voters plan on getting COVID-19 vaccine when available

Fifty-one percent of registered voters in a new Hill-HarrisX poll said they plan on getting a COVID-19 vaccine when one is widely available.

By contrast, 22 percent said they will not be getting a vaccine and 27 percent are unsure.

A recent AP-NORC poll found similar findings, with 49 percent sayng they would be getting vaccinated for the deadly virus.

The May 27-28 Hill-HarrisX survey found Republican voters were less likely than Democratic voters to say they would get a vaccine, with 47 percent of Republicans saying they will do so compared to 62 percent of Democrats.

“It’s hard to know what the 22 percent represents,” Karlyn Bowman, public opinion analyst and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told Hill.TV.

“Whether or not it’s some sort of general opposition to vaccines or whether or not people just want to understand the efficacy of the work that’s being done right now,” she added.

Data from Gallup show fewer Americans view vaccines as important today than two decades ago, the the percentage falling from 94 percent in 2001 to 84 percent in 2019.

While vaccines can take years to develop, testing for potential COVID-19 vaccines have already begun worldwide.

The Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 961 registered voters between May 27 and 28. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.16 percentage points. 

—Gabriela Schulte