Long Islanders Wary Of Coronavirus Vaccine, Poll Finds

LONG ISLAND, NY — More than half of Long Islanders said they wouldn't get a coronavirus vaccine when it was released, citing concerns about its safety and a lack of trust in the FDA's process. The data comes from the latest Truth In Medicine poll conducted by Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital.

According to the poll, only 46 percent of respondents said they would get a coronavirus vaccine when it became available. Two-thirds of those who said they wouldn't get it believe the vaccine is being rushed and aren't sure it's safe. Of the 600 people polled, only 54 percent said they trust the FDA to determine if the vaccine is safe and effective.

“We clearly have our work cut out for us in terms of educating the public on the safety of a COVID vaccine, assuming one is fully developed, tested demonstrated to be safe and efficacious, and approved by the FDA,” said Dr. Aaron E. Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau and a national expert on infectious diseases. “The poll results show that there is significant concern about the approval process. It will be up to us in public health and in the government to make the case for a COVID vaccine once it becomes available. I have faith in the approval process being conducted by the FDA and that all the data will be analyzed by independent professionals. These professionals will be guided by the science and nothing else.”

The opinion is in line with a Truth In Medicine poll conducted in June, which found that 55 percent of people said they were unsure about the vaccine, or just wouldn't get it.

The results of the poll were not all doom and gloom, though. Most people believe that the reopening of schools has gone well. More than 90 percent of parents who responded gave their school high marks on reopening.

Mask wearing has also become accepted by the public at large, the poll shows. Of those who responded, 92 percent said they always wear a mask when they're outside of their homes and can't social distance.

The poll also looked at the effect that the pandemic has had on the work lives of respondents. Three-quarters of people are now back at work where they were before the pandemic, the poll found, but 11 percent of people are at different jobs and 14 percent are unemployed.

The unemployment has hit minority and elderly residents particularly hard, the poll found. Nearly a quarter of Black respondents who were employed before the pandemic are now without jobs. And only half of those over 65 are still working the jobs they were before the pandemic.

The Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll, which was sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, surveyed 600 Long Island and New York City adults between Oct. 4 and 8 via both landlines and cell phones. Poll findings are subject to a sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.