A new national survey by the COVID Collaborative and Langer Research Associates finds that stressing safety and effectiveness, the support of loved ones and community responsibility are the surest ways to encourage coronavirus vaccine uptake.

Based on statistical modeling, the random-sample study, released today, finds four key predictors of Americans’ intention to get vaccinated:

• Safety and effectiveness. Seeing the vaccines as safe and effective is by far the single strongest predictor of intended uptake.
• A subjective social norm, meaning the sense that others close to you want you to get vaccinated. This is the second-strongest predictor of intended uptake, with considerable room for improvement on current sentiment.
• Social responsibility, the understanding that getting vaccinated is a social need rather than just a personal preference. Recognizing this “moral norm” again is far from universal, and it’s the next-strongest uptake predictor.
• Perceived disease risk. The likelier people are to be worried about catching the coronavirus, the likelier to get vaccinated against it.

The survey finds that 71 percent of Americans say they definitely or probably will get the vaccine, lean that way or already have done so. Gaining adherence among these convinced or favorably inclined groups would approach the minimum vaccination level considered desirable to achieve herd immunity.

The survey, first in a series, evaluates other vaccine uptake attitudes, including the extent of “wait-and-see” sentiment, views toward vaccines generally, concerns about potential side effects, eligibility awareness and trusted information sources. It follows on a previous national study, also produced for the COVID Collaborative by Langer Research, focused on vaccine hesitancy among Black and Hispanic Americans.

See the full report here. Underlying materials including the survey questionnaire, crosstabs and dataset have been donated to the SEAN COVID-19 Survey Archive, operated by Langer Research in support of the National Academies of Sciences’ Societal Experts Action Network, a group of social science experts convened to support pandemic response efforts.