How much do we trust COVID-19 vaccine’s safety?

Google survey of greater Jacksonville residents commissioned by News4Jax parent company, Graham Media

(Christophe Archambault, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Most residents in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia trust the safety of the new COVID-19 vaccines, according to results of a Google survey conducted the last 10 days of December. At the same time, many of the same people expressed serious concerns about getting vaccinated.

The survey commissioned by News4Jax parent company, Graham Media, asked 501 people over age 18 in WJXT’s viewing area several questions about COVID-19.

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Over 72% of people responded that they knew someone personally who had either tested positive, died or had other issues with COVID-19. Most indicated they were optimistic about the safety of the vaccine.

Asked to rank the vaccine on a 10-point scale, nearly 55% gave their trust level as 8 to 10. Another 29% answered between 4 to 7. Only 16% answered 3 or below, indicating a very low trust in the safety of the vaccine.

The largest number of respondents (66%) agreed that the vaccine “will protect people at high risk.” More than half of those surveyed felt the vaccine “will allow me to live a more normal life,” “help get the economy back to normal,” and “protect me and my family from the virus.

The survey did find people had significant reservations about getting vaccinated, with 47% saying they were concerned about serious long-term effects, 36% concerned about immediate side effects, 34% concerned about its effectiveness, and 29% responding that not enough research was done.

Only 7% of those who responded said they had no concerns at all about the vaccine.

Interestingly, seeing celebrities, doctors and public figures vaccinated didn’t increase the trust level of most people surveyed. Just under 24% said that would increase their trust either a little or a lot, while 28% said it would decrease their trust of the vaccine either somewhat or significantly.