Majority of Voters More Likely To Get Coronavirus Vaccine If Endorsed By Fauci, CDC Versus Trump, Biden: Poll
A majority of registered voters say they'd be more likely to accept a vaccine for the novel coronavirus if endorsed by Dr. Anthony Fauci or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), than if it was endorsed by President Donald Trump or presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, according to a new poll.
The poll, which was conducted by Morning Consult/Politico, surveyed 1,991 registered voters from July 31 to August 2. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
According to the poll, if a vaccine for the novel virus was endorsed by Fauci, 43 percent said they'd be more likely to accept it, 37 percent said it would have no impact on their decision, 10 percent said they'd be less likely and 10 percent said they didn't know or had no opinion.
Similarly, if a vaccine was endorsed by the CDC, the poll found 43 percent saying they'd be more likely, 39 percent said it would have no impact, eight percent said they'd be less likely, and 10 percent said they didn't know.
The poll found drastically different results when asking respondents if they'd be more likely to accept the vaccine if endorsed by Biden or Trump.
If a vaccine was endorsed by Trump, only 14 percent said they'd be more likely to accept it, the poll results said. Fifty-four percent said it would have no impact, 21 percent said they'd be less likely and 12 percent said they didn't know or had no opinion on getting the COVID-19 vaccination.
If endorsed by Biden, the poll found only 20 percent saying they'd be more likely to get it. Fifty-one percent said it would have no impact on their decision, 18 percent said they'd be less likely to get the vaccine, and 12 percent said they didn't know or had no opinion.
The poll also found only 24 percent of respondents saying they'd be more likely to accept a coronavirus vaccine if it were endorsed by former President Barack Obama. Forty-eight percent of those polled said it would have no impact, 17 percent said they'd be less likely, and 11 percent said they didn't know or had no opinion.
The poll's findings come as cases and deaths from the novel virus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, continue to increase throughout the U.S. According to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University, there are currently over 5 million confirmed cases and at least 163,156 deaths in the U.S.
According to a coronavirus vaccine tracker, published by the New York Times, there are currently 30 vaccines in the human trial phase. On July 27, Moderna became the first company to begin its Phase 3 clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine in the U.S.
In addition to Moderna, Pfizer and the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech announced the launch of Phase 2 and 3 trial, that included 30,000 volunteers from the U.S., and several other countries, including Brazil and Germany. On August 4, Maryland-based Novavax announced results from two preliminary studies with one showing 56 volunteers producing high level of antibodies against the virus.
Many companies working on a vaccine are hopeful that their efforts will result in a shot that can be administered in the early months of 2021. Trump has said that he believes a vaccine will be available as early as November 2020, though Fauci and other health officials have expressed doubt that it is possible.
However, the federal government, through Operation Warp Speed, announced partnerships with AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, French manufacturer Sanofi, and Novavax. Under these deals, all manufactures except AstraZeneca will produce 100 million doses of their respective vaccines for the U.S. government. AstraZeneca is contracted for 300 million doses.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the campaign teams for Biden and Trump for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
