An earlier version of the article was featured in AIThority and MarTechCube.

Two New Vaccine Readiness Segments Emerge: Vaccine-Hesitant and Vaccine-Resistant Americans

Resonate’s New Vaccine Readiness Report Delivers Key Insights for Communicating with Americans Who Are Delaying or Avoiding COVID-19 Vaccination

According to a just-released vaccine readiness report from consumer intelligence firm Resonate, the leading provider of A.I.-driven consumer data and analytics, nearly 77.8 million Americans remain hesitant or resistant to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, representing a significant challenge for organizations focused on vaccine education and distribution. However, Resonate’s latest wave of research also revealed that vaccine readiness among Americans has been trending upward in recent months, demonstrating the opportunity for success through targeted education and messaging when fueled by strong insights.

Currently, 65 percent of Americans today say they’ve had or are likely or very likely to get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as it’s available to them. Of the remaining 35 percent, 21 percent (45.9 million Americans) are hesitant to be vaccinated, saying they’re only “slightly” or “moderately” likely to get it. Meanwhile,14 percent (31.9 million) are resistant, saying they’re “not at all likely” to get the vaccine. Between December and April, the number of consumers who say they’re completely likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine rose 106 percent, while the number who said they’re not likely at all to get it fell 29 percent.

Read the report: Moving the Needle: How Americans feel about vaccines today + 5 ways to reach the vaccine-hesitant and -resistant, updated April 2021

“Real-time insights are vital at this key juncture in the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination,” said Bryan Gernert, Chief Executive Officer of Resonate. “Brands have the opportunity to play an important role in moving the needle on vaccinations. Understanding the shifting consumer sentiments among the hesitant and resistant—and the ability to reach individuals where and when they are most receptive to information—is critical. Resonate is committed to delivering the insights needed to drive these campaigns forward.”

Highlights of the new report, “Moving the Needle,” based on insights from Resonate’s real-time, consumer intelligence platform, include:

• Both hesitant and resistant groups are far less likely to believe vaccines in general are important. They’re also far less likely than average to trust a doctor’s recommendations.
• Both audiences are less politically active than the average American, and a large chunk of them feel sour toward the government.
• Nearly 5 percent of all Americans are avoiding the vaccine due to side effects, and these audiences are also more likely to not refill a prescription due to side effects.
• The vaccine-hesitant and -resistant audiences watch TV on different devices. The vaccine-hesitant audience is significantly more likely than the average American to watch TV on a phone, tablet, computer or streaming device than standard TV. The vaccine-resistant audience mostly watches standard TV or through a streaming service.
• The hesitant are 61 percent more likely than the average American to be on Twitch, 46 percent more likely to be on TikTok, and 32 percent more likely to be on Reddit and Snapchat. The resistant audience mostly uses Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter—but 23 percent of them are still on Snapchat and 13 percent are on TikTok. It’s also worth noting that 60 percent of them trust the news and information they see on Facebook to a moderate or large extent.
• The hesitant are 27 percent more likely than the average American to shop based on convenience, so emphasizing the number of nearby vaccination sites in their area and offering transportation for those not near a site could be highly effective strategies for organizations trying to drive vaccination efforts forward.
• From a personal values standpoint, vaccine-hesitant individuals hold others’ opinions of them in high regard, so it’s worth emphasizing the social clout many are receiving for doing their part in getting vaccinated. Meanwhile, the resistant are devoutly religious, so organizations might want to consider working with churches to host vaccination sites and emphasize that vaccines are just as much about protecting your neighbor as yourself.

Resonate’s unprecedented COVID-19 research, which includes insights into vaccine attitudes and a wide variety of other consumer behaviors and motivations, is being made available, free of charge, to help organizations during this challenging time. Learn more about Resonate’s COVID-19 research and download the “Moving the Needle” report here.

Read the report: Moving the Needle: How Americans feel about vaccines today + 5 ways to reach the vaccine-hesitant and -resistant, updated April 2021

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