New Survey: 4 in 10 Want to Make Covid Vaccine Mandatory

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Nearly 40 percent of Americans believe taking a vaccine for the coronavirus should be compulsory, according to a new survey released Monday.

Thirty-nine percent believe Americans should be required to take it before returning to work or school, while 61 percent believe it should be optional, according to the ABC News/Ipsos study. At the same time, 26 percent of Republicans said they plan to never take the vaccine, compared to 14 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats.

The Food and Drug Administration last week authorized the distribution of a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on an emergency basis. Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, became the first American recipient on Monday, six days after 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first vaccine recipient in the United Kingdom. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday that he expects the vaccine to be available to up to 20 million Americans by the end of December.

Measured by age, young people indicated they were most averse to taking a vaccine. Seven percent of those aged 65 and above said they plan to never take a vaccine, compared to 20 percent of those aged 18-29.

More than 16 million Americans have tested positive for the virus since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it discovered the first case in January. Research released by the Red Cross last month found the first known cases of the virus emerged in the United States as early as December 2019, meaning the number of confirmed cases likely understates the total number of Americans who have actually contracted the virus.