Survey Results: Majority Of BH County Residents Plan To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

The on-going battle with the Coronavirus rages on, but finally there is hope, as more and more vaccinations are taking place across the state. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports that Phase 1B will begin next week. More people getting vaccinated can't come soon enough, as Black Hawk County is now back in the "high status", with a 10.1% 14-day average positivity rate, along with 14,249 positive cases and 246 deaths reported.

The results of a Black Hawk County Health Department survey are now available to the public. The survey was conducted online and via phone from December 2nd through January 15th, with 6,707 people responding. 87.5% of the respondents have not tested positive for COVID-19, while 12.5% said they were diagnosed with the disease.

Some of the highlights of the survey include:

Do you plan to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available?

• Definitely yes - 42.5%
• Probably yes - 21%
• Unsure - 13.6%
• Probably not - 8.6%
• Definitely not - 14.3%

Females are more positive than males about the vaccines safety and effectiveness.  42.6% of females think the vaccine is "definitely safe"  and only 24.6% of males think the same. That percentage draws pretty much even at around 36% if the answer is "probably yes". Similar percentage numbers are shown when asked about the "effectiveness" of the vaccine.

Here's an overview of how the survey was put together:

• The survey leaned heavily toward females with 72.8% responding and only 26.8% males
• The survey also leaned heavily toward Whites/Caucasians with 89.3% responding and just 4.7% Blacks/African Americans
• Employer provided health insurance - 53.5%
• Highest level of education completed - Bachelor's Degree 32.3%
• A little over 16% of respondents are employed at Unity Point, MercyOne or another health care provider
• Just over 15% work in a K-12 school - where participation in taking the survey was encouraged
• Majority are aged from 19 to 59 years old

Most people (44.4%) would definitely receive the vaccination if it was offered by their healthcare provider, slightly less if it was offered by the Black Hawk County Health Department or their employer at about 40%, and around 35% if was offered by a drugstore/pharmacy.

Of course, there are plenty of factors that contribute to people being hesitant about getting the vaccine, including waiting for more research on safety, possible side effects, overall effectiveness, cost, and availability. What is comes down to is, each person has to gather as much information as possible to make an informed decision to what's best for themselves personally and also keep the public interest in mind.