Washington Among States Most Willing To Accept COVID-19 Vaccine

SEATTLE — Adults in Washington are some of the most likely to accept the coronavirus vaccine, according to a new study.

That study, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, or IHME, identified the 10 places in the U.S. with the lowest amounts of vaccine hesitancy. They are:

1. Massachusetts
2. Michigan
3. Washington
4. Pennsylvania
5. Illinois
6. California
7. District of Columbia
8. Connecticut
9. Virginia
10. Nebraska

In Washington, the IHME found that over half of adults would willingly take the vaccine, and less than a quarter would refuse. The remainder said they were unsure whether or not they would accept vaccination.

Their results are similar to a recent Crosscut/Elway poll of Washington voters, which found that 55 percent of evergreen state residents were planing to get vaccinated.

And while 55 percent is higher than most other states, it isn't exactly stellar news. As Crosscut notes, state and federal health officials say it would take about 70 percent vaccination for the population to gain herd immunity to the virus.

According to IHME's study, across the country just 52 percent of Americans were willing to take the vaccine. About 25 percent said they were unsure if they wanted to be vaccinated or not, and 23 percent said they would not be receiving the vaccine.

The state most likely to get vaccinated is Massachusetts, where 63 percent of respondents said they intended to be vaccinated — high, but still solidly below the percentage needed for herd immunity.

As the IHME notes:

"There is a critical need for education campaigns targeted to subgroups of the population who are currently not willing to accept the vaccine. This information needs to be disseminated quickly so that by the time the vaccine is available, the vast majority of the population are willing to receive it."

America is not the only country where vaccine skepticism could cause problems: researchers found several counties in Europe, Western Africa and Southeast Asia where more than 30 percent of adults said they would flat-out reject the vaccine.

According to the latest vaccine distribution update from the state Department of Health, Washington has received 425,900 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. As of Jan 5, 110,225 of those doses had been administered.

Related: Washington's Next Coronavirus Vaccine Phase: Here's What To Know