Harris Poll COVID-19 Tracker Wave 58

In The Harris Poll COVID-19 Tracker (Week 58) fielded April 2nd to 4th, 2021 among 1,943 U.S. adults, we look at the rise of vaccine acceptance, what motivates people to get the vaccine, the burden of affordable housing for Older Millennials, the return of Major League Baseball, and what Americans know about NFTs.

As a public service, our team has curated key insights to help leaders navigate COVID-19. Full survey results, tables, and weekly summaries can be accessed for free at The Harris Poll COVID-19 Portal. We will continue to actively field on a regular cadence to track the shifts in sentiment and behaviors as the news and guidelines evolve.

Vaccine Acceptance Is at Its Highest Yet

For the last year, we have tracked many sentiments surrounding COVID-19, but perhaps the metric with the most observation is Americans’ acceptance and likelihood for inoculation. As we continue into our 58th week of tracking, vaccine acceptance continues to rise and we see just how far Americans are willing to go to get the jab.

• A new high: Today, nearly eight in ten (77%) say they are very or somewhat likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available to them. This is the highest acceptance rating seen so far, with acceptance being as low as (68%) at the end of February.   
• Acceptance grows but not universally: For months we have seen vaccine likelihood slowly rise but it has been uneven across demographics, today Black Americans are still more unlikely to get the vaccine than White Americans (33% vs 23% respectively) a consistent trend we have seen since we started tracking the sentiment.
• The road to normalcy: Four in ten (41%) of Americans willing to get the vaccine say they would travel outside of their home county for an appointment, with (69%) willing to travel between 10-49 miles. If given the choice, half (51%) would opt to get the vaccine at their primary care doctor’s office.
• Not out of the woods yet: As featured in Axios, Americans are still worried about the spread of new variants and this fear is still dictating what people are comfortable with doing. Three in five (62%) who are uncomfortable traveling in the U.S. say new variants are the reason.

Takeaway: With vaccine acceptance on the rise, Americans are inching closer to getting back to normal. Some are even willing to travel to infinity and beyond if it means that they can resume pre-pandemic life. 

Here’s What Will Actually Convince People to Get Vaccinated: TIME-Harris Poll

All Americans over 16 will now be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19th. In a new TIME/Harris Poll, we look at what may actually motivate the fence-sitters.

• Authority figures might not be the most effective messengers: Of those who had recently been vaccinated, only (32%) said they were influenced by a local official reaching out directly via email, phone or mail.
• Return to Normal: Much more effective, it seems, are appeals to people’s individual needs and desires – half (52%) said they got the vaccine because they wanted to travel.
• The people around us also play a major role, with (56%) of respondents saying they got vaccinated after a friend or family member did, and (59%) saying they were influenced merely by having a conversation with such a closely connected person.
• Despite our ostensible mistrust in the media, (63%) said they were influenced by news reports about people who had already been vaccinated.

Takeaway: As TIME notes, past research shows value in appealing to people through personal stories: one study found that one way to earn the trust of people is not for the media to censor accounts of side effects and skepticism but to precede them with real-world data on the minimal risks and the considerable benefits of vaccines.

The Older Millennial Burden – Finding Affordable Housing: CNBC-Harris Poll

A continuation from our story last week, Harris Poll and CNBC continue to look at “Middle-Aged Millennials” and one of their biggest hardships: finding affordable housing.

• About one-third of older millennials, those born between 1981 and 1989, say that housing is their most burdensome monthly expense, according to a recent survey conducted by the Harris Poll.
• Among both renters and homeowners, the average older millennial spends a median amount of $1,200 a month on housing costs.
• But… that same cohort only takes home about $3,200 a month in pay, which means the typical older millennial is paying more than the recommended 30% of their income on housing. Many are spending more than (37%).

Takeaway: Older Millennials are struggling to find a decent place to live at an affordable price which causes them to be at a higher income-to-housing-cost ratio. Older Millennials are finding it hard to reach other financial goals under the burden of affordable living.

MLB Fans on Rule Changes, Ballpark Safety and Analytics’ Influence on the Game: The Athletic-Harris Poll

With the 2021 MLB season opening last week, The Harris Poll partnered with The Athletic to look at what fans’ expectations are for a safe game-day outing. Here’s what we found:

• Fans are not expecting a quick return to normal at the ballpark, despite the hopeful national vaccination progress. Fans are tolerant of temperature checks (85%) and mask-wearing (88%).
• When asked when MLB stadiums would return to full capacity, (73%) said either next season or 2023; (16%) said this year, and the remaining (11%) said they would never attend a full capacity contest again.
• Nearly three-quarters of fans supported vaccinated-only sections, but there is a generational divide as  nearly half of Gen-Z respondents said they would be less likely to attend if there are vaccinated sections.
• Rocky Mountain High: In protest over Georgia’s new voter law, MLB is moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.

Takeaway: The return of sports is a big step for American culture post-COVID and fans are itching to get back to games. Although it may not be convenient, fans are willing to take the extra step to see a live game with other people in the stadium. 

Don’t Get NFTs? Don’t Worry, Neither Do Most Americans: Bloomberg-Harris Poll

We teamed up with Bloomberg to take a look at the latest cryptocurrency trend – non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Here’s what we found:

• Only (27%) of Americans say they are very or somewhat familiar with NFTs. Men, millennials and the wealthy appeared more aware.
• Even when reading a description of NFTs, most people remained confused. Only (30%) said they understood how NFTs work while (70%) said that even after an explanation, they still didn’t really get them very well or at all.
• Americans did express some willingness to buy NFTs. A full (42%) said they saw NFTs as a legitimate form of art collection. However, don’t expect them to shell out as much as recent collectors have for the digital collectibles. Last week, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey sold his first-ever tweet for $2.9 million.

Takeaway: Some say NFTs are the latest fad and while we have yet to see what the future brings, it is clear that most Americans do not understand exactly what they are. NFTs are a niche in the crypto world still but that doesn’t mean some people aren’t willing to pay more than their fair share for one.