COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Stays Steady in September

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Stays Steady in September

Though New COVID Decisions Prove Unpopular, Gov. Ducey is Above Water – Biden Not so Much

PDF Toplines and Crosstabs for general population can be found here

PDF Toplines and Crosstabs for registered voters can be found here

PHOENIX (September 21st, 2021)- Over the last 6 months, even with ceaseless efforts from ADHS and local and federal governments, and in the wake of the delta variant, those approximately 20% of Arizonans who have been unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccine since March are holding fast to their decision. As of September's Arizona Public Opinion Pulse (AZPOP) conducted by OH Predictive Insights, 22% of Arizonans are still unwilling to take the vaccine. However, 70% of Arizona adults – the coveted herd immunity value – have either already been vaccinated or are willing to do so.

This AZPOP was conducted from September 7 – September 12, 2021 and surveyed 1,000 general population Arizonans (18+ YO) with a margin of error of ± 3.1%.

After a brief respite, more Arizonans are once again extremely/moderately concerned (46%) about the Coronavirus issue in the state. For the first time since January, Arizonans are more pessimistic than optimistic about the COVID situation with a net optimism of -14%.

Looking into the sentiment of those Arizonans who are not willing to take the vaccine, a strong plurality (49%) are still slightly/somewhat concerned about the current state of the pandemic in Arizona, and one in five (24%) are extremely/moderately concerned. Even so, more than half of those unwilling (52%) believe the COVID situation will remain the same in the next 30 days.

"Tracking vaccine willingness has proven especially insightful in the last 6 months as we learn that a meaningful share of residents is unwavering in their decision against taking the COVID vaccine," said Mike Noble, OHPI Chief of Research.

Recent news about the surging delta variant has had little effect on increasing people's willingness to be vaccinated. While 6 in 10 (59%) Arizona residents who have not been vaccinated said the delta variant had no effect on their decision, 22% of them are more likely to get the vaccine and another 18% are less likely to do so. The delta variant has positively impacted willingness most among Hispanic/Latinos (36% more likely), 18-34-year-olds (33%), and parents of young children (31%). Among those unwilling to take the vaccine, 66% said news of the delta variant and rising cases has no effect on their decision.

With vaccine unwillingness holding steady, a plurality of Arizonans approve of the job Doug Ducey is doing to combat the Coronavirus (48% approve, 42% disapprove). This is a significant shift from his job approval rating in July 2020 where he was 18 points underwater.

Although most Arizonans approve of Ducey's handling of the pandemic, some of his recent actions regarding schools are unpopular. Half of Arizonans oppose Governor Ducey's ban on school mask mandates – including 39% who strongly oppose the decision. Similarly, 57% of Arizonans oppose the decision to withhold funds from schools with mandates.

Governor Ducey wasn't the only government official to experience a shift in approval. In a sharp reversal from May, Biden's job approval in regard to handling COVID took a major hit in September. The 46th U.S. President has a -4% net approval on his handling of the COVID-19 issue — a shift of 36 points from the poll taken four months prior.

While Biden was enjoying a +32% net approval on COVID handling in May, the U.S. was seeing an average of 49.6k cases and 2.3 million vaccines administered per day. In September, Biden's -4% net approval was likely influenced by rising daily cases (152.3k per day) and diminishing vaccine distribution (826k per day).

"Another key takeaway from this data: Arizonans have little tolerance for another stay-at-home order or closing public schools again. Mask mandates were the only combative measure that earned the support of a majority of residents," said Noble.

###

Methodology: This poll was conducted as an online opt-in panel survey. The survey was completed by OH Predictive Insights from September 7 to September 12, 2021, from an Arizona Statewide General Population sample. The sample demographics were weighted to accurately reflect gender, region, age, ethnicity, and education according to the most recent census data available. The sample size was 1,000 general population (18+ YO) Arizonans, with a MoE of ± 3.1%. Numbers may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Media Contacts:

Haylye Plaster, OH Predictive Insights, [email protected], (602) 687-3034

Veronica Sutliff, OH Predictive Insights, [email protected], (602) 390-5248