Poll: 4 in 10 Americans express that they are not willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine

LAKE MARY, Fla. - As we get closer to a COVID-19 vaccine being approved and distributed, four in ten Americans say that they are not willing to get it.

Some of them expressed to FOX 35 that they are just not comfortable taking it.

However, others are ready to take the vaccine once it gets FDA emergency use authorization. A recent Gallup poll showed that 58 percent of Americans are willing to get the vaccine, with those 65 or older the most willing. That still leaves 42 percent of Americans not participating.

"I don't the cure to be worse than the disease itself," Kendra Hogan of Lake Mary said. "They need to give me more about the side effects."

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The Gallup poll says that a quarter of Americans want to confirm that the vaccine is safe before taking it. 37 percent are against it because of the rushed development and another 12 percent say they just don't trust vaccines in general.

Dr. Sajid Chaudhary, a Florida Infectious Disease Specialist, added that "they have the right to have their reservation. That is fine. But they should go and find the facts."

He wants people to look at the vaccine data, citing that he is confident in it and that any major side effects would have happened by now. 

Dr. Chaudhary said that "my only concern is -- which we have to see the results -- is how long the body will be able to maintain the antibody level to protect against the virus."

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He admits that he will be one of the first to get the vaccine, expressing that "sometimes you feel kind of helpless. The way it is being spread by all of us essentially. So, I'm really hopeful that we can break the chain and that's the only way we can control it."

Dr. Chaudhary hopes vaccine confidence can be built by leadership officials coming out and supporting it.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.