Latest Demographic Breakdown of Vaccine Uptake Has a Some Surprises

 

NBC poll results released two days ago give the latest picture of those who have and haven't taken vaccines. The poll was among 1000 adults and was collected August 14-17.  

They report raw numbers, but what fun is that? I turned those numbers into charts for your viewing enjoyment. Here is the breakdown of vaccination status:



Sixty-nine percent of respondents say they are vaccinated. As of now, about ten days after data collection, JHU reports that 52.3% of Americans are fully vaccinated. So that is a bit of a discrepancy.  There are three explanations (which aren't mutually exclusive): 
  • The sample isn't representative of the population as a whole. This is possible, but you'd think NBC would pop for a good sample.
  • The question is poorly worded. It is at the least ambiguous. The relevant response option asks "Have you already gotten the vaccine?" So the number may be high because it mixes people who have gotten both doses and those who've gotten one dose.  I doubt that's enough to explain a 15% difference though.  So it's probably also...
  • Social desirability bias. This is a known bias in survey research in which people give responses they think will be most favorably viewed by others. So maybe some respondents didn't want to look like COVIDiots.
With that caveat noted, let's look at some of the results. One interesting tidbit is that compared to October 2020, the number of "won't take" responses is down by 5%.  

Also, what the hell are the "wait and see" people waiting for? Hundreds of millions of people have been vaccinated and there are zero reports of limbs falling off, genital atrophy, or spontaneous combustion among them.

Here is the breakdown by sex:


Women are 4% more likely to say they have been vaccinated than men. That is in line with previous polling and with studies that show women are slightly more conscientious than men.

Here are differences in the percentage of people who say they are vaccinated, broken down by some other demographic factors:

The top two charts surprise me a little.  I would expect the age groups to line up least to most, but the 35-49 group is lower than the 18-34 group.  

Also blacks and Latinos are more likely than whites to be vaccinated. That is contrary to a lot of reports I have read (like this one) saying that blacks are vaccine hesitant because of previous maltreatment by the medical establishment. It is also contrary to reports that poorer minority communities lack access to vaccines.

The bottom two charts are less surprising.  Republicans and T**** voters are the same thing, and they are the ones filling up our hospitals right now and forcing everyone to go back into protective mode. Also people in rural areas (which also tend to be T**** voters) think the pandemic doesn't apply to them.

Header Image by Angelo Esslinger from Pixabay 

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