Survey: ‘Faith-Based Approaches’ Could Help Convince Millions of Americans to Get COVID-19 Vaccines

A new survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Interfaith Youth Core found that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy remains prevalent in some American communities—but a faith-based approach could prove crucial in the fight to combat it. The survey sampled over 5,600 adults across the U.S. between March 8 and 30. It found that among Americans who attend some type of religious service at least a few times a year, 44% of people “hesitant” about COVID-19 vaccines said that a faith-based approach—or approaches—could impact their eventual decision to get vaccinated, and 14% of people “resistant” to the vaccine said the same. (Across all people surveyed, regardless of religious affiliation, 26% of “hesitant” Americans and and 8% of “resistant” Americans said that faith-based vaccination campaigns and public health drives would make them more likely to get the shot. The results suggest faith-based approaches could potentially help sway millions of Americans into getting vaccinated. The approaches that the surveyed people were asked to consider included a respondent’s religious leader or fellow religious community member receiving the vaccine, a religious leader encouraging the community to get vaccinated, a religious community holding an informational forum on the vaccine, a nearby congregation serving as vaccination site or their religious community providing help to arrange vaccine app...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Brief COVID-19 News Source Type: news