More than half of Americans are willing to receive covid vaccine, poll finds

About 53 per cent of Americans said they would receive the vaccine

More than half of Americans have said they would be willing to receive a first-generation Covid-19 as soon as it becomes available to the public, according to a new poll.

An Axios-Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found 53 per cent of Americans would likely receive the coronavirus vaccine based on current information surrounding its development and efficacy.

This was a slight increase from the 51 per cent of Americans who said they would take the vaccine before Thanksgiving and 38 per cent in early October, Ispos reports.

Approval of the vaccine increased to 69 per cent of Americans willing to receive the jab if it was proven to be safe and effective by public health officials.

Additionally, 67 per cent of respondents said they would take the vaccine if it showed it was 90 per cent effective at protecting one against Covid-19 – an efficacy both Pfizer and Moderna have said their vaccines demonstrate against the novel virus, based on data from their late-stage human trials.

Then 65 per cent of Americans said they would take the vaccine if it was on the market for a few months.

Poll respondents were also asked if their support of the vaccine would increase if President Barack Obama, President George W Bush, and President Bill Clinton all received the jab on TV to show it’s safe. About 60 per cent of respondents said they would take the vaccine if this happened, which was “an improvement over baseline but not as convincing as the safety arguments,” Ipsos said.

The former presidents announced last week that they would be willing to receive the coronavirus vaccine on TV in order to improve confidence among the public.

President-elect Joe Biden and Dr Anthony Fauci, among others, have also said they would receive the jab on television in an effort to show the public how much the treatment is trusted.

In an effort to further improve public confidence, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioned an independent panel of experts to review vaccine data prior to giving companies emergency authorisation for their jabs.

Vaccine distribution could start as early as this weekend if Pfizer receives emergency authorisation this week.