Seven in 10 adults in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are now ready to get vaccinated against COVID-19 when a dose becomes available to them or have already been vaccinated, according to the results of the latest University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. Researchers who conducted an online survey in late January that included 2,022 respondents found that 71% of older adults are now willing to receive or have received the COVID-19 vaccine, up from 58% in October 2020. Among Blacks, Hispanics, and people in fair or poor health, the jumps in vaccine receptiveness were even bigger—up 20 points for Blacks and 18 points for Hispanics versus 9 points among White respondents. As observed with earlier poll results, individuals with higher household incomes or more education were more likely to report that they would get a COVID-19 vaccine. “This is incredibly encouraging, given the amount of hesitancy we saw in our poll from late fall,” said one of the researchers in a statement. “But these new data still reveal gaps in attitudes about COVID-19 vaccination between racial and ethnic groups.”

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