A Pew Research Center study found that a supermajority of white Evangelical Protestants has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Still, the group has the lowest vaccination rate among demographic subgroups in the study.
According to the recently released study, 73 percent of respondents reported that they were fully vaccinated, and an additional 5 percent said they had received at least one dose of the vaccine. Twenty percent said they had not received the shot.
Among those fully vaccinated, 66 percent said they have also received a booster/
The Christian Post reports that the survey also divided responses by religious affiliation and found that vaccination rates were highest among Catholics (85 percent reported they had at least one shot). White non-Evangelicals reported 77 percent, and white Evangelical Protestants were 62 percent. The religiously unaffiliated had a vaccination rate of about 80 percent.
The results corroborate findings from an NBC News poll taken last summer, which found that 59 percent of white Evangelicals had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In March 2021, another Pew poll found that among all faith groups, white Evangelicals were the “least likely” to say they planned to receive the vaccine. In another report from May 2021, the study found that secular Americans were more hesitant about the vaccine than Evangelicals.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that more than 213 million Americans are fully vaccinated, about 64 percent of the total American population. About 75 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The recent Pew study also asked respondents about their feelings on the pandemic, lockdown and mask orders and vaccine mandates.
The percentage of Americans who rated the response of public health officials as “excellent/good” decreased from 79 percent to 50 percent.
In March 2021, when President Joe Biden took office, 54 percent of Americans thought he was doing an “excellent/good” job of responding to the pandemic. That number today is 40 percent.
Other findings from the study included:
- 85 percent of Americans now feel comfortable visiting a close friend or family member in their home
- 84 percent of Americans said they were comfortable going to the grocery store
- 73 percent said they were comfortable going to a hair salon
- 70 percent reported they felt comfortable eating out in a restaurant
Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/Choreograph
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
