Table 1 Prevalence of COVID-19 skepticism and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy in the U.S., by political, religious, and sociodemographic categories: January–March, 2021
| Â | COVID-19 Skepticism (% agree or strongly agree) | SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Hesitancy (% agree or strongly agree) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Exposure variables | % | (n) | % | (n) |
Political party identity | ||||
 1 = Strong Democrat | 11.4 | (211) | 7.6 | (210) |
 2 | 10.7 | (206) | 6.3 | (206) |
 3 | 12.6 | (127) | 6.3 | (127) |
 4 | 34.3 | (350) | 13.5 | (349) |
 5 | 50.0 | (110) | 9.1 | (110) |
 6 | 62.3 | (151) | 10.8 | (148) |
 7 = Strong Republican | 78.3 | (92) | 17.2 | (93) |
Political orientation | ||||
 1 = Extremely liberal | 8.0 | (75) | 5.3 | (75) |
 2 | 6.4 | (203) | 2.9 | (204) |
 3 | 11.0 | (146) | 4.9 | (144) |
 4 | 25.7 | (389) | 11.6 | (387) |
 5 | 49.2 | (128) | 11.6 | (129) |
 6 | 64.0 | (250) | 14.9 | (249) |
 7 = Extremely conservative | 79.3 | (58) | 20.7 | (58) |
Presidential voting preference | ||||
 Biden | 12.0 | (725) | 7.2 | (723) |
 Other | 38.3 | (128) | 13.3 | (128) |
 Trump | 69.3 | (381) | 14.8 | (379) |
Bible beliefs | ||||
 Bible is an ancient book | 16.4 | (324) | 4.6 | (323) |
 Bible contains human error | 30.9 | (162) | 12.4 | (161) |
 Bible is true but not literal | 39.7 | (370) | 10.8 | (370) |
 Biblical literalist | 50.8 | (183) | 17.9 | (184) |
Belief in God | ||||
 Atheist | 8.3 | (84) | 1.2 | (84) |
 Agnostic | 27.8 | (281) | 8.2 | (280) |
 Belief in a higher power | 23.3 | (189) | 9.6 | (188) |
 No doubt God exists | 41.5 | (595) | 13.3 | (593) |
Gender | ||||
 Female | 27.3 | (656) | 11.8 | (653) |
 Male | 38.2 | (555) | 9.2 | (553) |
Marital status | ||||
 Married | 36.8 | (646) | 9.2 | (644) |
 Not married | 27.6 | (576) | 12.0 | (574) |
Race/ethnicity | ||||
 White | 33.9 | (799) | 7.9 | (800) |
 Black | 22.1 | (136) | 19.4 | (134) |
 Hispanic | 32.1 | (190) | 16.9 | (189) |
 Other | 35.2 | (88) | 9.3 | (86) |
Age | ||||
  < 65 years old | 33.6 | (803) | 11.6 | (800) |
  > 65 years old | 30.4 | (470) | 8.3 | (468) |
Urbanicity | ||||
 City | 25.9 | (305) | 10.9 | (303) |
 Suburb | 26.9 | (346) | 7.8 | (345) |
 Small town | 35.1 | (388) | 11.1 | (386) |
 Rural | 48.8 | (172) | 15.1 | (172) |
Region | ||||
 Northeast | 30.6 | (209) | 7.6 | (210) |
 South | 33.8 | (477) | 13.8 | (472) |
 Midwest | 32.2 | (270) | 10.7 | (270) |
 West | 32.6 | (310) | 7.1 | (309) |
Education | ||||
  < High school | 37.0 | (46) | 18.8 | (48) |
 High school | 41.6 | (125) | 17.9 | (123) |
 Some college | 38.3 | (428) | 11.7 | (428) |
 College degree | 30.6 | (346) | 9.4 | (342) |
 Graduate degree | 18.2 | (258) | 4.7 | (257) |
Annual family income | ||||
  < $10,000 | 32.3 | (65) | 21.5 | (65) |
 $10,001 to $20,000 | 31.1 | (106) | 19.0 | (105) |
 $20,001 to $35,000 | 36.4 | (151) | 13.8 | (152) |
 $35,001 to $50,000 | 29.6 | (179) | 11.4 | (175) |
 $50,001 to $100,000 | 33.8 | (320) | 11.3 | (320) |
 $100,001 to $150,000 | 29.6 | (189) | 3.7 | (189) |
  > $150,001 | 31.4 | (185) | 3.3 | (184) |
COVID-19 exposure | ||||
 Has been infected | 36.3 | (215) | 14.0 | (215) |
 Has not been infected | 31.6 | (1087) | 9.7 | (1032) |
COVID-19 family fatality | ||||
 Lost close relative or friend | 31.3 | (316) | 14.7 | (314) |
 Did not lose relative or friend | 32.9 | (938) | 9.0 | (935) |