Promoting the need for truthful information to foster a democracy built on trust.
This research, conducted in June 2021 by members of Indiana University on an online panel representative of the American population (693 individuals), highlights the polarization of the debate in the United States around vaccination against Covid-19 between Democrats and Republicans.
While 95% of the Democratic respondents surveyed by the researchers have been vaccinated or intend to be vaccinated, this figure drops to 66.5% among Republicans. Among respondents who have not yet been vaccinated (the vast majority of whom are Republicans), 58.1% declare that they do not intend to get vaccinated. 82% of these respondents also believe that the federal public health agency (CDC) is hiding the negative effects of Covid-19 vaccines, and 52.5% believe that vaccines cause infertility in women. In comparison, among those who have been vaccinated or intend to be vaccinated (79% of the sample), 37.6% believe that the CDC is hiding the negative effects of vaccines, and 17.2% believe that vaccines can cause infertility. The researchers emphasize that misinformation appears to be a major deterrent in individuals’ willingness to get vaccinated.
