Only 17 percent of Americans now say they won't get a COVID-19 vaccine

Leonida Lipshy, RN in the COVID unit at the Broward Health Medical Center, gives Jaime Carrillo, M.D. Internal Medicine, Broward Health Imperial Point, a shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

As COVID-19 vaccines continue rolling out throughout the United States, a new poll suggests vaccine hesitancy is on the decline.

In a Census Bureau survey conducted in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 percent of adults said they definitely or probably wouldn't get vaccinated against COVID-19, a decline from 22 percent in January, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The decline was more prominent among those who said they "probably" would not get vaccinated, as 13 percent said as much in January compared to nine percent in March. Eight percent of respondents said they "definitely" won't get the vaccine, down only one point from nine percent in January.

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The poll also breaks down the responses by state, and though hesitancy was highest in the South, there were notable declines in Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the Journal notes. Among Black Americans, 22 percent said they probably or definitely wouldn't get the vaccine, down from 34 percent in January.

Meanwhile, a separate poll released by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed 13 percent of respondents said they will "definitely not" get vaccinated. Among Republicans and white evangelical Christians, almost 30 percent said they wouldn't get the vaccine. The poll also showed, though, that 55 percent of Black adults either had received their vaccine or soon planned to do so, which was up 14 percentage points from February.

The Census Bureau's latest survey spoke with almost 80,000 U.S. adults between March 3 and March 15. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.