A new survey report formulated by Carnegie Mellon University revealed that Covid-19 vaccine uptake has not changed the proportion of vaccine-hesitant adults.

The report revealed that the concerns about a side effect remain high, especially among females, Black adults, and those with an eligible health condition.

The Delphi Research Group at CMU in partnership with Facebook released its latest survey findings. The analyses show that vaccine hesitancy persists and point to potential tactics to combat it.

“Prior research by the CDC has found that Black and Hispanic adults are the least likely to receive the annual flu vaccine each year. Our survey suggests that Covid vaccine hesitancy follows a similar trend,” said Alex Reinhart, assistant teaching professor in CMU’s Department of Statistics & Data Science and a member of the Delphi Research Group.

For the survey, the researchers tracked daily trends in behaviors and attitudes on issues related to Covid-19 at the state and county levels.

The surveys of Facebook users were conducted by members of the Delphi Research Group in partnership with Facebook’s Data for Good program.

The report consists of responses obtained from more than 1.9 million Americans between January 10 and February 27, 2021.

The survey noted that the proportion of adults who are either vaccinated or willing to get vaccinated increased from 72 per cent to 77 per cent. However, vaccine hesitancy remained relatively steady at 23 per cent.

The researchers note that vaccine hesitancy might be improved by addressing concerns about potential or perceived side effects. Seven out of 10 vaccine-hesitant adults stated they were concerned about side effects.

“When it comes to increasing vaccine acceptance, our global health partners have emphasized that there is not a one size fits all approach,” said Kang-Xing (KX) Jin, Facebook’s Head of Health.

The research team suggested turning to trusted local healthcare professionals to spread the word of vaccine safety and importance.

The findings of the report were published on the official website of Carnegie Mellon University and EurekAlert!.

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