How many Mississippians don’t want a COVID vaccine? Here’s what surveys say
Mississippi became the second state to open COVID-19 vaccinations to any adult who wants one, but some residents don’t intend to get a shot — at least not yet.
Depending on which of two recent surveys you look at, either one-half or one-quarter of Mississippians say they probably won’t get a shot or are unsure.
The latest Millsaps College/Chism Strategies State of the State survey for Mississippi shows 20% of those who responded say they probably or definitely will not get vaccinated and 5% are unsure.
This is a “monumental shift” from the Jan. 5 survey that showed about twice that many — nearly 50% — would refuse to get the vaccine or were unsure, according to the report.
A different survey, the 2021 Gulf South Index, shows 51% of those asked in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle would be willing to get vaccinated if it is available at no cost.
Mississippi had the smallest number in that report who said they would get the shot at 45% and Florida the largest at 65%.
The studies also show:
▪ By education, income —Those with more education and higher income are more likely to get vaccinated.
Gulf South — 73% with a college education and 68% with a household income over $100K are ready to take the shot.
Millsaps — 83% with a college degree have or will get vaccinated compared to 71% of residents with no college
▪ By gender — Mississippi State Department of Health reports 56% of those who tested positive for COVID-19 in the state are women. Yet a poll by The Hill and HarrisX in the fall showed that 69% of U.S. men surveyed were likely to get the coronavirus vaccine compared to 49% of women, who were most concerned with the safety and speed with which the vaccine was implemented.
Millsaps — That number has improved to 79% of men and 73% of women in Mississippi who are vaccinated or plan to get the vaccine.
▪ By race
The surveys are widely different when it comes to race.
Millsap — 86% of Black people are vaccinated or plan to get vaccine compared to 71% of white people
Gulf South — 37% of Black women in the Gulf South said they will not get the vaccine and 34% are unsure, compared with 28% of all women in the region who say no and 27% who are unsure.
▪ By political party
Millsaps — 90% of Democrats, 69% or Republicans and 73% of Independents are immunized or plan to get vaccine. 26% of Republican, 23% of Independent and 7% of Democratic voters say they probably won’t get vaccine.
How many need to be vaccinated?
To reach herd immunity will require 50% to 67% of the population to be resistant.
According to the Millsaps survey, that number will be exceeded if all who say they intend to get vaccinated actually do so.
The Gulf South survey shows it will take going church by church and getting the endorsement of celebrities, athletes and other influencers, said Marc Ehrhardt, of The Ehrhardt Group.
“We have the data we need to locate people where they are across the Gulf South,” he said. “We will have to get very specific, though, in the tools used to reach these audiences, learn about any hesitancy or misinformation, and then motivate them to take the next step and get vaccinated.”
Data from Pew Research Center shows the number those who intend to get vaccinated across the country is rising. The report shows:
- 19% of adults have already received at least one dose of the vaccine.
- 50% say they definitely or probably will get vaccinated.
- 69% of the public has gotten vaccinated or plans to, up from 60% who said they planned to get vaccinated last fall.
- In the Gulf South, 41% are still extremely concerned about the COVID-19 situation in the United States, down slightly from 43% in July.
How the surveys work
The information for Gulf South was collected from 1,500 online interviews during the first week of March from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. The margin of error is plus/minus 3%.
The Millsaps survey was conducted March 8 and 9 from a sample size of 602 people, with 10% of the interviews conducted by cell phone and 90% on landline. It has a margin of error of 4%.
Gulf South Index is a cooperative project between The Ehrhardt Group, a public relations firm, and Causeway Solutions, a research and data analysis company, both of which are both based in the Southeast.
Those who responded to the Millsaps survey were 48% age 55 and older, 66% white and 31% Black, 55% female and 45% male, 32% high school graduates and 38% with a four year degree or higher. 52% Republican, 30% Democrat and 15% Independent.
The Millsaps survey also asked about Mississippi’s mask mandate. It shows 55% of those surveyed felt Gov. Tate Reeves ended the state mask policy and other pandemic restrictions too soon. Nearly 30% said the decision was made at the right time and 13% said it should have happened sooner.
