USChamberOfCommerce.org
The emergence of vaccines to protect against COVID-19 in late 2020 helped lay the groundwork for what some are now calling the virus’s endemic stage.
Public health leaders have made efforts to overcome skepticism and resistance to the 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. Lastly, just over 36% indicated that they did not trust the U.S. government. Researchers ranked U.S. states according to the share of unvaccinated adults who cited government distrust as a factor in choosing to not get vaccinated.
The analysis found that as of the first week of February 2022, 20.4% of Ohio residents were unvaccinated. Among the unvaccinated population in Ohio, 35.1% cite government distrust as one of the reasons for not receiving or planning to receive a vaccine.
