Majority of Americans Favor President’s Vaccine Mandate: Poll

MEDICAL ECONOMICS

Six in 10 Americans support the vaccine mandates announced by President Joe Biden, although support is divided sharply along party lines, a survey finds.

According to the Axios-Ipsos poll, conducted September 10 to 13, 2021, 60% of Americans favor requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for federal employees and businesses and organizations with 100 employees or more. However, only about 30% of Republicans support the requirements compared with more than 80% of Democrats and 60% of independents.

From a political perspective, the support among independents is especially important, according to Cliff Young, president of Ipsos US Public Affairs. “The No. 1 issue for Biden has been COVID, and he’s been losing ground on it, especially among independents. This is an initiative that could help bolster him there,” Young said in a statement.

The poll also found that increasing numbers of Americans are experiencing vaccine and masking requirements at work and in public places. Twenty-five percent of respondents said their employers now require all employees be vaccinated compared with 16% in a survey conducted August 10 to 13.

Similarly, 58% of respondents said their employers require mask wearing at work, up from 51% in the August survey, and 43% said their state or local government requires masks to be worn in public places, up from just 33% in August.

Also, there is growing concern over the spread of the Delta coronavirus, with 53% of respondents saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned compared with 35% in late June. A plurality of Americans (38%) said the federal government’s top priority should be getting more people vaccinated, rather than providing booster shots (28%) or sending vaccines to developing countries (19%).

Interestingly, support for school masking mandates has increased slightly; 70% of respondents supported them compared with 69% in mid-August. Similarly, support for childhood vaccination is up but still lukewarm; 44% of respondents, compared with 38% in mid-August, said they were “very” or “somewhat” likely to get their child vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available for the child’s age group. ❒

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