Concerning news on the COVID-19 front. A cases spike and winter looms, a surprising number of American adults would not receive a vaccine.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey found that only 55 percent of adults with private health insurance reported being willing to receive a vaccine against COVID-19 when it is released.
One-quarter said they are not willing to receive the vaccine, 9% reported that “It depends,” and 12% were not sure.
Most (89%) respondents thought that their insurance should cover the full cost of the vaccine.
However, one-half were willing to pay $100 or less to receive the vaccine, and 28% were willing to pay more than $100.
Survey results
The survey also found that the use of health care services dropped considerably because of the pandemic, with one in five reporting that they or a family member delayed medical care because of COVID-19. Many individuals did expect delayed health care to be rescheduled in 2020 or 2021.
Nearly one-half (48%) reported that care has been or will be rescheduled for 2020, and 31% reported that care has been or will be rescheduled for 2021.
However, 19% reported that they will not reschedule the procedure, raising questions about whether that care was necessary or whether such lack of care might be harmful to individuals.
These findings may be due to the timing of the survey. In late July to early September 2020, COVID cases had just peaked and were in decline.
With the surge in COVID cases in recent weeks combined with the announcement from Pfizer that its vaccine was 90% effective, public opinion toward a vaccine may have changed since the summer. News of the COVID vaccine sent markets soaring this week in expectation of an economic recovery.
More information about the EBRI/Greenwald Research Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey can be found here.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
