Rasmussen Pole: Do most voters support federal vaccine mandates?

Most people while somewhat worried there could be side effects, believe it smart to get vaccinated. They also believe the gov should not mandate vaccination.

Personally, not sure the government isn't doing more harm than good fighting this fight. Especially until they have data showing vaccination indeed retards virus transmission. The jury is apparently still out on that one (conflicting studies/early days of research).

COVID-19: Voters Worry About Vaccine Side Effects, Oppose Federal Mandates

Friday, December 03, 2021

More than half of voters are concerned that COVID-19 vaccines could have harmful side effects, and don’t think the federal government should have the power to make vaccination mandatory.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 54% of Likely U.S. voters are concerned about the potential of harmful side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 27% who are Very Concerned. Forty-four percent (44%) aren’t concerned about vaccine side effects, including 19% who are Not At All Concerned. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Despite such concerns, 65% of voters say they’re confident in the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 36% who are Very Confident. Only 32% are not confident in the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.

A federal appeals court last month blocked President Joe Biden’s order requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their staffs are vaccinated against COVID-19 or are tested weekly and wear masks. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters don’t believe the federal government should have the power to make vaccination mandatory, while 35% think the government should be able to mandate vaccination.

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The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on December 1-2, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of voters say they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccination, while 22% have not gotten the vaccine. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the unvaccinated say they’re concerned about the potential of harmful side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. By comparison, among those who have already gotten the vaccine, only 44% are concerned about potential side effects.

As has been the case since the COVID-19 threat emerged in early 2020, political divisions remain about policy in dealing with the pandemic. Democrats (59%) are far more likely than Republicans (17%) or voters not affiliated with either major party (27%) to believe the federal government should have the power to make vaccination mandatory.

More Republicans (64%) than Democrats (45%) or unaffiliated voters (52%) are concerned about the potential of harmful side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Voters 65 and older are most likely to have received the COVID-19 vaccine, and are more confident in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine compared to younger voters.

More black voters (35%) than whites (24%) or other minorities (31%) say they’re Very Concerned about the potential of harmful side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.

College graduates are significantly more likely to believe the federal government should have the power to make vaccination mandatory.

Government employees are more confident than private sector workers in the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, and are also more likely to have been vaccinated against the virus.

President Biden’s strongest supporters are also most likely to support federal vaccine mandates. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 84% believe the federal government should have the power to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory. By comparison, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 91% say the government should not have the power to make vaccination mandatory.

With the Omicron variant of COVID-19 making headlines, most Americans are worried about another pandemic surge, but don’t expect it to impact their plans for the holiday season.

Most Americans don’t think public schools should require students to get COVID-19 vaccinations, and have concerns about whether the vaccines are safe for children.