About 6 in 10 Americans don’t know when or where to get a coronavirus vaccine, according a survey released Friday from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
This comes after reports that President Joe Biden’s administration must start from scratch with federal plans for distribution, having been left little to no framework from former President Donald Trump and his team.
“The Biden administration has been left with a huge challenge on vaccine administration. Most Americans don’t know when or where they can get a vaccine, including older Americans who are already eligible to get a vaccine in a growing number of states,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said.
The report, based on surveys conducted from January 11-18 with 1,563 adults, suggests Americans are experiencing a range of emotions from the vaccine rollout. Half of the people surveyed said they are “frustrated,” a third said they felt “confused,” and nearly a quarter are “angry.”
Of the essential workers interviewed that have yet to be inoculated, the survey found that 55% said they have enough information about where to get a vaccine. But 55% do not have enough information regarding the timing of their eligibility.
Additionally, 21% of health care workers interviewed who have not been vaccinated said they don’t have enough information about when to obtain vaccines.
The report finds Black, Hispanic and lower-income adults are among the groups least informed. At least 6 in 10 say they don’t have enough information about vaccination locations, and at least two-thirds say that they do not have enough information about when they can get vaccinated.
About half (48%) of the public surveyed expects vaccine distribution to “get better” under Biden’s administration, while most others expect the situation to “stay about the same” (36%). Relatively few (12%) expect distribution to “get worse,” the survey stated.
Overall, in spite of the issues with distribution so far, two-thirds of those surveyed remain “optimistic” about vaccinations in the US.
Respondents were less pleased with the efforts of local officials. Regardless of personal politics, most of the survey participants — 60% — rated their state government’s performance on vaccines as fair or poor.
