The United States is vaccinating the population at a very quick pace and we may even reach the Biden administration's goal of vaccinating 200 million people in 100 days, but it's also possible that we're going to hit a wall in the coming months if current trends in polling hold up.
Public eagerness and willingness to get vaccinated is divided along partisan lines and a new survey conducted by Monmouth University found that almost half of self-identified Republicans say they won't get a shot.
Partisanship remains the main distinguishing factor among those who want to avoid the vaccine altogether, with 43% of Republicans versus just 5% of Democrats saying this. Currently, 22% of independents say they want to avoid getting the vaccine altogether. Demographically, adults under age 65 (25%) continue to be more likely than seniors (11%) to rule out getting the vaccine. There are no discernable differences by race, though, with similar number of whites (22%) and people of color (20%) saying they will avoid getting the vaccine if they can.
Just over half (51%) of the adult population reports having already received at least one Covid jab and another 14% say they will get the vaccine as soon as they are allowed. Democrats (67%) are more likely than independents (47%) and Republicans (36%) to report being vaccinated. More white Americans (54%) than people of color (45%) report having already received a shot.
As these numbers suggest, maps of vaccinations are starting to look like a typical electoral map of election results.
This map from the Department of Health and Human Services shows which areas of the country are more likely to refuse a vaccine.
As you can see, the most liberal areas -- or at least the most liberal voting areas along the west and east coasts and far north -- are far more open to being vaccinated.
You could draw almost any conclusion that you want from this and I would say you're probably right to some degree.
There may come a point when we're struggling to reach true herd immunity in the United States because too many people are refusing to get vaccinated, not because we don't have enough doses. We already have enough doses to inject virtually everyone.
I hope that is not the case and that more people will change their minds over time.