Despite the strong U.S. rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, millions of Americans remain unvaccinated. What is keeping so many people from taking the shot?
The African American Research Collaborative and the Commonwealth Fund explore the reasons in a new poll of more than 12,000 Americans and the largest sample of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans in any COVID-19 vaccine uptake study. First, location matters. Fifty-three percent of unvaccinated people would prefer to get vaccinated at their doctor’s office, but that’s not where most vaccines are being administered. Second, many people of color fear discrimination because of negative experiences they’ve had with medical professionals.
As the public health community works to convince unvaccinated Americans to change their minds, another challenge looms. Asked whether they’d take an annual COVID booster shot if needed, fewer than half of all adults — vaccinated and unvaccinated — said they definitely would. The full array of data can be viewed on the American COVID-19 Vaccine Poll website at www.covidvaccinepoll.com. | 
