But overall hesitancy in covid-19 vaccines continues to fall.
LAST WEEK America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that covid-19 vaccination sites temporarily stop administering the jab made by Johnson & Johnson (J&J), a one-dose alternative to the more popular two-shot variants from Pfizer and Moderna. American regulators were spooked after some recipients of the jab developed rare but severe blood clots. Proponents hoped that by seriously addressing potentially harmful side-effects, regulators would boost confidence in vaccines. Critics worried the decision might appear to give sceptics justification for their reluctance.
New polling data confirm some fears, but dispel others. Between April 10th and 13th YouGov, a pollster, asked 1,500 Americans whether they thought the J&J dose was safe and whether they have been vaccinated or plan to do so when it is their turn. Overall, 48% of respondents said they thought the J&J vaccine was safe, compared with 30% who thought it was unsafe; confidence in the Pfizer and Moderna shots were 58% and 59%, respectively. YouGov also found that 59% of respondents had been or were planning to get vaccinated, compared with 23% who said they would not get a jab