Two-thirds of us want the COVID-19 vaccine, not enough for herd immunity, survey says
Sixty-five percent of Sedgwick County residents plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine when they can, according to a survey by the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita.
Sixteen percent reported they don’t want the vaccine, and 19% are on the fence, said Elizabeth Ablah, a KU Med professor and researcher who led the survey.
Commissioner David Dennis said he was disappointed that only about two-thirds of county residents are committed to taking the vaccine.
“That doesn’t get us to herd immunity” — the level where so many people have been vaccinated that the disease poses little threat to the unvaccinated — Dennis said.
“Hopefully through some kind of communication and advertising, we can convince that 19 percent to move over to the will-get category,” he said.
About 75 to 80 percent of U.S. residents need to be immunized by the end of 2021 to return the country to more-or-less normal operations, according to a recent estimate by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s point man on the pandemic.
KU Med’s seven-county survey drew about 9,000 responses from residents of Sedgwick County and those results were presented to the County Commission on Wednesday.
The 19 percent who are considering but not committed to the vaccine appear to be waiting to see how it turns out for the early adopters, Ablah said.
Top concerns expressed were that the vaccine was rushed to production and that it may not be safe or effective, she said.
The survey was conducted in November and December and also gathered data on who respondents trust for information on the vaccine and the COVID pandemic.
Doctors, researchers, the Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control scored highest on the trust survey, while local media, national media and social media were the least trusted sources.
Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said the survey results signal confirmation for him and a majority of commissioners who have leaned on the medical community and their health officer, Dr. Garold Minns, for advice during the pandemic.
“To me it’s comforting to see that social media is the least reliable for information, according to this,” he said.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 11:47 AM.
