New poll shows anger, frustration toward the unvaccinated
The 9NEWS/Denver Gazette poll asked vaccinated and unvaccinated people questions about mask and vaccine requirements, among other things.
Only 10% of unvaccinated Coloradans plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and 55% of vaccinated Coloradans have either anger or frustration toward the unvaccinated.
That's according to a new poll released Tuesday that was done in partnership with 9NEWS and the Denver Gazette. The joint poll was conducted by SurveyUSA.
The poll surveyed 500 Coloradans who were both vaccinated and unvaccinated against COVID-19, and it asked them questions ranging from whether or not kids should wear masks in schools, to whether or not police officers and firefighters should have to get vaccinated to keep their jobs.
The polling data collection process started on Sept. 9 – so there were no questions asked about President Joe Biden's sweeping vaccination mandate – which was announced the same day.
Vaccination Status
Out of those polled, 71% were either partially or fully vaccinated, while 26% reported that they were not vaccinated.
Poll Question:
"Have you been partially vaccinated against the Coronavirus? Fully vaccinated? Or have you not been vaccinated?"
Meanwhile, a vast majority of respondents said they were concerned about the delta variant.
Seventy-three percent of respondents reported being somewhat or very concerned about the delta variant of COVID-19; 24% of respondents said that were not very concerned or not at all concerned about the delta variant.
Poll Question:
How concerned are you about the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus?
COVID-19 In the Workplace
Vaccine requirements in the workplace are becoming more and more common. Pretty soon, we'll start seeing people leaving their jobs over vaccine mandates as deadlines approach.
While respondents were largely in favor of requiring vaccines in order for employees to keep their jobs, there was some variance depending on what the job was.
Firefighters and police officers, for example, were among the fields that people were less inclined to think should be required to be vaccinated.
Poll Question:
"Now, specifically: should each of the following groups be required to be vaccinated in order to keep their jobs? Or not?"
(The fields we polled for include people who work in nursing homes, doctors/nurses, police officers, firefighters, EMS workers/paramedics, K-12 school staff, government employees who have contact with the public and government workers who don't have contact with the public.)
According to the poll, 52% of respondents said firefighters should be required to get vaccinated to keep their jobs – 55% for police officers and 66% for EMS/paramedics.
A group of firefighters agreed to talk to 9NEWS about a looming deadline with the City and County of Denver.
One firefighter told 9NEWS, "I go in every day, and I have a letter on my desk from the mayor: 'Thank you for life-saving actions for an underprivileged citizen.' And now I have a letter right next to that one that says if I don't get this shot inside of two weeks, I will need to find a different career.'"
When asked generally if they agree that local governments should require their employees be vaccinated, 33% of respondents said they strongly agree; 30% said they strongly disagree; 22% said they somewhat agree; and 10% said they somewhat disagree.
Poll Question:
"Some Colorado municipalities and government agencies have begun requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Employees who do not get vaccinated may lose their jobs. In general, do you agree or disagree with municipalities and government agencies requiring their employees be vaccinated in order to keep their jobs?"
COVID-19 in Business
Respondents were divided evenly over another measure: 45% said private businesses should have the legal right to refuse service to those who are unvaccinated; 44% say they should not.
While vaccine requirements were evenly split, a majority of respondents said a business should have the legal right to deny service to anyone not wearing a mask.
The mask question yielded 56% of people saying businesses should have the legal right, and 33% of people said they shouldn't. Another 11% of people said they weren't sure.
Poll Questions:
"Should businesses have the legal right to refuse service to people who are not wearing masks? Or not?" "Should businesses have the legal right to refuse service to people who are not vaccinated? Or not?" "Should private employers have the legal right to require their employees get vaccinated? Or not?"
Masks in Schools
Masking in schools has been one of the more volatile topics since the pandemic began 18 months ago.
For example, Douglas County commissioners voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to leave the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) after 55 years over mask mandates.
Respondents to our poll agreed that teachers and children should wear masks in schools, but the vote was far from unanimous.
When it comes to teachers, 57% of respondents said they should be required to wear masks in schools, while 31% said they shouldn't. Another 11% said they weren't sure.
When it comes to kids, 55% of respondents said they should be required to wear masks, while 37% said no. The final 8% of respondents weren't sure.
Both questions were in regards to K-12 schools.
Poll Questions:
"Should children in K-12 schools be required to wear masks? Or not?" "Should teachers in K-12 schools be required to wear masks? Or not?"
"Anger" and "Frustration"
The decision by people to not vaccinate had some people in the poll frustrated or angry.
Out of the respondents who identified as vaccinated, 42% said they were frustrated with people choosing not to be vaccinated; another 13% said they were angry with people choosing not to be vaccinated.
Another 20% of the vaccinated respondents looked at the unvaccinated with understanding; and 19% with indifference.
Poll Question:
"Which of these best describes how you feel about people who are not vaccinated?"
The anger and frustration may not be without reason; 72% of vaccinated respondents said they were very or somewhat concerned that people who are unvaccinated will end up affecting their health.
Another 26% of vaccinated respondents said they were not very concerned or not at all concerned about the unvaccinated affecting their health.
Poll Question:
"How concerned are you that people who are unvaccinated will ultimately end up affecting your health? Very concerned? Somewhat concerned? Not very concerned? Or not at all concerned?"
Vaccine Plans
Of the unvaccinated respondents, only a small portion said they planned to get vaccinated.
An overwhelming 76% of unvaccinated respondents said they had no plans to get vaccinated; meanwhile, only 10% of the unvaccinated said they planned to get the shot. Another 14% said they weren't sure.
That means that out of 500 respondents, only 13 people identified as unvaccinated and also planned to get the vaccine.
Poll Question:
"Do you plan to get vaccinated for the Coronavirus?" (NOTE: This question was asked of only the 130 people who identified as unvaccinated.)
The reasoning for why the respondents didn't plan to get vaccinated varied wildly.
The majority reason, at 24%, was due to respondents being concerned about the safety of the vaccine.
Other top reasons included the respondents' belief that the vaccine was a hoax or they felt the vaccine represented government intrusion into their lives.
Poll Question:
"Which of these reasons best describes why you do not plan to be vaccinated?"
Finally, we asked vaccinated respondents about whether or not they'd get a booster. This, of course, was before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted down a widescale booster rollout.
A majority of vaccinated respondents, at 67%, said they were very likely to get a booster shot for COVID-19; 14% said they were somewhat likely. Only 9% of vaccinated respondents said they were either someone or very unlikely to get a booster.
Five percent of our respondents said they'd already gotten a booster.
Poll Question:
"How likely are you to receive an additional COVID vaccination as a booster shot when one is available to you?"
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