How many Floridians will choose to get a COVID vaccination?
Bottom Line: In the time warp which 2020 has been, at least to me, it feels like we’ve arrived in December super-fast. It’s wild to think the pandemic, which changed our lives on a dime, has been ragging in the states since March. Here we are, remarkably, nearly ten months into this thing and we’re on the precipice vaccines being widely distributed. That is remarkable is as well. While President Trump said we could produce a vaccine by the end of the year and worked efficiently with manufactures to see to it all elements were ready for rapid buildups of supplies once approvals took place... Most “experts” said it wasn’t possible. Don’t expect your news media to credit President Trump for this achievement either.
In Florida, Governor DeSantis stated we’re likely to have 2 million vaccines ready to go by the end of the month. It’s a remarkable number which will be prioritized as part of a three-tier plan. The first tier includes those in elder care facilities and front-line healthcare workers. The second includes other at-risk individuals. The third is open for everyone else. While it’s likely to be a matter of months before we’re having phase three conversations in Florida the question remains. Would you choose to get a COVID vaccination?
According to Gallup 58% of Americans now say they’ll take a COVID vaccine when it’s made available to them. That’s up from 50% from three months ago, so momentum is trending higher towards acceptance. Still, 42% of the country isn’t onboard. And what about Florida? According to a Florida Trend poll, 51% of Floridians will accept a vaccine as soon as offered. That suggests Floridians are a bit more skeptical than the country as a whole. There’s a difference between perception and reality, it’s likely these numbers could change a bit by the time vaccines are actually being administered but it’s safe to say around half of Floridians have no intention of willingly submitting to a COVID vaccination.
Photo Credit: Getty Images