Poll: Lack of trust in health and reporting institutions the biggest reasons people don't get a coronavirus vaccine

Unvaccinated respondents were polled between June 9 and July 6, 2021. Covid States Project chart; click the image to enlarge it.

A new report from The Covid States Project examines reasons why people do or don't get coronavirus vaccinations, with a heavy emphasis on why unvaccinated people remain so.

From April through July, researchers surveyed nearly 21,000 people in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., collecting open-ended and multiple-choice responses. Though the polling doesn't differentiate rural/urban differences, rural residents are among the most likely to resist coronavirus vaccination.

Pollsters asked respondents why they would or wouldn't get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Among those who gave reasons why they wouldn't get vaccinated, the most common answer (35%) was "perception of risk," the belief that vaccines pose a health risk. Another 24% said they were uncertain about the risks of the vaccines, particularly because they are new, and the perception that they were developed too quickly and/or not tested enough. Some 15% said it was lack of trust in institutions (such as public-health agencies or news stories) that say the vaccines are safe, and 12% said they don't believe Covid-19 poses a major risk to them. Only 3% said life constraints (transportation or job difficulties) have kept them from being vaccinated, and 1% said it was a fear of needles. About 9% listed other reasons such as religious beliefs, constitutional rights, and general opposition to all vaccines.

Here are some of the report's other findings:

• 67% of respondents said they had already had at least one vaccine dose, 15% said they were willing to get vaccinated, and 18% said they weren't willing to get vaccinated.
• Lack of trust in institutions that oversee and vouch for vaccines' safety underlies many concerns about coronavirus vaccines.
• Trust in institutions is strongly associated with vaccination at the individual and state levels.
• Overall, 45% said in June that they trust the news media to do the right thing to best handle the current coronavirus outbreak. Only social-media companies, at 33%, scored lower. Hospitals and doctors were the most-trusted segment, at 92%. The pollsters did not ask respondents to specify what they meant by "news media" or to differentiate among different news sources.
• 13% of vaccinated respondents said they trusted the news media "a lot" and 38% said "some".
• 6% of unvaccinated respondents said they trusted the news media "a lot" and 24% said "some".
• From April to June, trust levels for all institutions and people declined modestly.

The Covid States Project is a joint effort of Harvard, Northeastern, Northwestern, and Rutgers universities. It receives support from the National Science Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and Amazon.