Satisfaction with the Covid-19 vaccination process has tripled among US adults since January under Joe Biden's administration, and has spiked even among Republicans.
According to a Pew Research poll, 49 per cent of Republicans expressed satisfaction with the Covid-19 vaccination process in January. In March, that number rose to 66 per cent.
Satisfaction with the process has rose sharply for all US adults between January and March, with only 33 per cent of adults stating they were satisfied with the process in January. In March, that number increased to 68 per cent.
The sharpest spike appears to be influenced at least in part by partisan politics.
In January, only 22 per cent of adults who identified as Democrats expressed satisfaction with the vaccine rollout. That number doubled in February, with 44 per cent of Democrats saying they were satisfied with the process, and continued to rise into March, with 73 per cent saying they were satisfied.
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Donald Trump was still president for most of January, making it likely that a change in national leadership likely influenced the Democrats’ responses.
Satisfaction with the process is highest among those 65 and older, with 77 per cent of that demographic expressing confidence. That age group has been prioritised to receive vaccinations first.
Americans' willingness to receive the coronavirus vaccine has also been on the rise. In December, 65 per cent of Americans said they were willing to get the vaccine or had already been vaccinated. That number jumped to 71 per cent in January, and rose to 74 per cent in March.
As Americans' willingness to get the vaccine increased, the number of those who said they did not want to take the vaccine naturally decreased. In December, 35 per cent of respondents to Pew's poll said they were unwilling to take the vaccine.
That number decreased steadily to 29 per cent in January and February, then again to 26 per cent in March.
Despite the rise in confidence, health experts warn that the need for caution during the pandemic is far from over.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, choked up during an impassioned plea for Americans to continue taking precautions to mitigate the virus's spread, warning of possible "impending doom".
"We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope. But, right now, I'm scared. I so badly want to be done. I know you all so badly want to be done. We are just almost there, but not quite yet," she said.
To further complicate matters, health experts have also warned that current vaccines could be rendered useless if the virus continues to mutate.
In a survey conducted by the People's Vaccine Alliance, a majority of virologists, epidemiologists, and infectious disease specialists said the current vaccines could be ineffective within a year if the virus continues to mutate.
Two thirds of the 77 respondents said that it could be “a year or less before the virus mutates to the extent that the majority of first-generation vaccines are rendered ineffective and new or modified vaccines are required”.
