Republicans are stubbornly hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and a Trump PSA might not help

Frank Luntz vaccination focus group
(Image credit: Screenshot/Frank Luntz/The Washington Post)

Right now, demand for COVID-19 vaccines is outstripping supply but that will change in the coming weeks. Then the challenge will be to persuade people hesitant to get the vaccine to roll up their sleeves. And several recent surveys show that while vaccine hesitancy is falling overall in the U.S., "opposition among Republicans remains stubbornly strong," The Associated Press reports.

In a new AP-NORC survey, 42 percent of Republicans say they probably or definitely won't get vaccinated, versus 17 percent of Democrats. A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour Marist poll found that 49 percent of Republican men and 47 percent of Donald Trump supporters said they would opt out if a vaccine was offered to them, versus 6 percent of Democratic men. A CBS News-YouGov survey released Sunday recorded 33 percent of Republicans saying they would not get a shot and another 20 percent undecided.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.