the patient does not agree to put the vaccine, vaccination. anti-vaccination from coronavirus
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, conditions in the U.S. have shown marked signs of improvement. While the Omicron wave brought a massive spike in cases, case counts have declined rapidly since peaking in mid-January, and the latest variant saw milder effects.
In light of these shifts, Washington and other states have moved to relax their remaining public health restrictions.
An accelerated process of developing, testing, manufacturing, and distributing vaccines has allowed more than 250 million Americans to receive at least one dose since vaccines first became available. With greater protection, COVID’s risk to much of the population has been significantly reduced. During the recent Omicron wave, vaccinated individuals showed far lower rates of hospitalization and death than their unvaccinated counterparts.
Public health leaders have made efforts to overcome skepticism and resistance to COVID-19 vaccines, but around one quarter of the total U.S. population still have not received a dose of the vaccine.
A large share of hesitation comes from concerns about the vaccine itself. According to survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 51.3% of those who are unvaccinated named concern about possible side effects as a reason, and 45.6% said they don’t trust COVID-19 vaccines.
A recent study from ChamberOfCommerce.org found that as of the first week of February 2022, 11.5% of Washington residents were unvaccinated. Among the unvaccinated population in Washington, 36% cite government distrust as one of the reasons for not receiving or planning to receive a vaccine.
Here is a summary of the data for Washington:
- Share of unvaccinated adults who cited distrust in govt.: 36%
- Share of unvaccinated adults who likely won’t get vaccinated: 82.6%
- Share of adults who are unvaccinated: 11.5%
- Total unvaccinated adults who cited distrust in govt.: 235,755
- Total unvaccinated adults who likely won’t get vaccinated: 561,796
- Total adults who are unvaccinated: 679,988
For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, find the original report on chamberofcommerce.org/states-whose-residents-dont-trust-the-government.
This health series is made possible by funding from the Washington State Department of Health, which has no editorial input or oversight of this content.