Poll: New enthusiasm for the COVID vaccine

By the numbers: Overall, 27% of respondents in Wave 33 of our weekly national poll say they plan to get the vaccine as soon as it’s available to them, up from 13% in September. Another 11% say they’ll get it a few weeks after; 25% say a few months after; and 15% say they’ll wait a year or longer.

40% of Americans ages 65+ now say they’ll take it as soon as it’s available — a big jump from just 15% three months earlier.

No other group saw that big an increase. But Democrats’ willingness doubled, from 15% to 31%, and Republicans’ nearly tripled, from 9% to 25%.

Black Americans, wary because of historical examples of systemic racism, remain reluctant to get the vaccine early. Still, those who said they would jumped from 5% to 16%.