Poll: Nearly 1 In 10 Marylanders Spurn COVID-19 Vaccine
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Despite Maryland's best efforts to get its residents vaccinated, including cash incentives, some adults in the state say they definitely won't get the coronavirus vaccine, according to a new Goucher College Poll.
Of the 700 Marylanders surveyed, 9% of residents said they definitely won't get the vaccine. It's not a big change from the 10% who said the same in the March 2021 poll.
A significant change since the last survey: just 2% of residents said they'll only get the vaccine if it's required, compared to 8% in March. The change comes at a time groups are protesting vaccine mandates at the federal, state and even city level.
Unions representing Baltimore City's firefighters and police officers are calling for the deadline of a vaccine mandate for city employees to be pushed back. That mandate took effect Monday, Oct. 18.
Last week, dozens of demonstrators lined up outside Northrop Grumman's BWI location to protest the company's vaccine policy, which is in line with the federal vaccine mandate.
According to the state's COVID-19 dashboard, 86% of Maryland residents are vaccinated, but 78% of respondents said they have at least one vaccine dose. Of the vaccinated respondents, 83% said they're likely or very likely to get a booster shot when it's available to them.
Public opinion of Gov. Larry Hogan's handling of the pandemic remained strong. Of those surveyed, 79% of respondents approve of Hogan's handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
The same poll found that 60% of residents support making recreational cannabis legal in Maryland.
