Poll: 29% of Republicans want vaccine

Although COVID-19 has taken the lives of approximately one in 1,000 Coloradans, a new survey shows Republicans are neither very concerned about infection nor interested in being vaccinated.

The survey of 769 people was conducted online in mid-February by Boulder County-based conservative polling firm Magellan Strategies. It had an overall 3.5% margin of error.

When asked, “How concerned are you that you or someone in your family will become infected with the coronavirus?” 32% of Republicans said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned, compared with 89% of Democrats. When respondents were asked whether they planned to get a COVID-19 vaccine, 29% of Republicans said yes, compared with 88% of Democrats.

Magellan Strategies CEO David Flaherty said the results show these public health matters “have become a political statement.”

Public health officials in Colorado and beyond are desperately trying to convince people that the vaccine is safe and that broad buy-in is the only clear way out of the pandemic. Nine percent of respondents said they hadn’t yet decided whether they’re comfortable being vaccinated.

The poll invited respondents to explain why they don’t want to be vaccinated. (The survey did not result specific hometowns or ages of respondents.)

“I don’t think the vaccine is trustworthy and could very well do permanent damage in my body,” one suburban Republican baby boomer said. And a suburban Republican millennial said: “I trust in my personal healthy lifestyle decisions, vitamins and immune system to do what it needs to do for me to flourish.”

The pandemic loomed large overall for Democrats and Republicans. Democrats listed an efficient vaccine roll-out as being more important than any other policy matter in the state, while Republicans prioritized “jobs and the economy,” “opening business,” “schools and education” and “mask policies” before vaccine distribution.

Respondents also noted struggles with mental health in the pandemic: 92% of Democratic women said stress related to the pandemic has negatively affected their mental health; 74% of women overall gave the same answer, compared with 57% of men.

The survey found strong confidence in government leadership in the pandemic, with approval ratings from 51% to 56% for local, county, state and federal COVID19 strategies. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who has received consistently high marks throughout the pandemic, had an approval rating of 56% — slightly higher than President Joe Biden’s.

Although the firm frequently polls for paying clients, this poll was internal and not paid for by anyone, Flaherty said.