Nearly 80% of surveyed Americans won’t change their mind & get Covid-19 vaccine, as inoculation rates threaten Biden’s July 4 goal

A new poll has found that Americans refusing a Covid-19 vaccination are highly unlikely to change their minds as inoculation rates have also significantly dropped.

More than three in four adults (78%) who have thus far refused to get a Covid-19 vaccination say they are unlikely to change their minds in the future, according to a new Gallup poll. Of that group, 51% say they are “highly unlikely” to change their minds. 

Approximately 20% of people who are hesitant to receive a vaccine say they are open to changing their stance, with only 2% saying they are “highly likely” to eventually be convinced to get inoculated. 

The poll – conducted among over 3,500 adults with a margin of error of 3% – could spell bad news for President Joe Biden’s ambitious goal of vaccinating 70% of US adults by July 4. Recent reports have shown that vaccine rates are plummeting in recent weeks, threatening the president’s plan.

While approximately 3.4 million shots were being given out a day in mid-April, that number has now fallen to below one million a day, according to a report from the Washington Post. 

To hit the president’s goal, it says, approximately 4.2 million adults would need to be getting vaccinated a week, but only 2.4 million were given a jab last week.

The drop has been chalked up by health officials to a lack of supply, rather than demand as vaccination sites have popped up around the country, but are seeing less and less people come through. 

Some states have tried incentivizing vaccine hesitant residents by offering lottery winnings worth millions of dollars. The rates of vaccination vary significantly from state to state, with a handful set to hit Biden’s goal, including New York, a state in which over 60% of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine. 

Some right-leaning states, however, have lower vaccination rates and are unlikely to hit the 70% threshold in the next month, the Washington Post report goes on. Twelve states, including Oklahoma, Montana, and West Virginia, have seen their daily vaccinations fall to just 15 jabs per 10,000 residents. 

One Utah woman told the outlet that “in certain circles, it’s almost shameful to get the vaccine.”

Fernando Urrego, a health official in Tennessee’s Hamilton County, said expectations have “pivoted” as demand has changed.

“We now know that we’re not going to be able to give out 1,000 vaccines in one day in these pockets. If we get 10, we’re ecstatic. If we get 15, it’s a good day,” he said. 

According to the Gallup poll, over 50% of respondents said they are concerned about people opting out of the vaccine, while 25% said they are “very worried” about the effects of vaccine hesitancy in the US. 

Over 60% of adults have received at least one Covid-19 dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with 14 jurisdictions hitting the 70% or higher threshold set forth by Biden. 

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