Marylanders eager to get COVID-19 booster shot, poll says

More than eight in 10 Marylanders say they would get a COVID-19 booster when it becomes available, according to a new Goucher College poll.

The survey released Wednesday highlights how the virus has changed daily lives and views about the future and it comes as state officials are campaigning to urge Marylanders to get booster shots.

Goucher College surveyed 700 Maryland adults between Oct. 14 and 20. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7%.

Nearly 80% of those surveyed said they received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Maryland has all the markers of a place where people want to get vaccinated,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the poll. “Maryland is a heavily Democratic state. We have a Republican governor and statewide leaders who have all been consistent with pro-vaccine messaging. The result is that Maryland has one of the highest vaccination rates.”

Nearly 80% of those polled said they approved or strongly approved of how Gov. Larry Hogan has handled the pandemic.

More than 77% of the state’s eligible population ages 12 and older is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fully vaccinated is defined as being two weeks out from a single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or from the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

A higher percentage have received at least one dose.

Kromer’s poll found that 83% of people surveyed said they’d be likely or very likely to get a booster when eligible.

Of those, more than eight in 10 Democrats and independents said they’d get a booster dose. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans said they’d get a booster, including 64% who said they are conservative in their politics.

Gov. Larry Hogan Monday urged eligible residents to get a booster dose. State officials expressed concerns about protection from the virus that appears to wane six to eight months after becoming fully vaccinated.  

The fully vaccinated account for three in 10 virus-related deaths since September. Many also suffered from conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Approximately 1.4 million Maryland residents are currently eligible for a booster shot.

Marylanders remain concerned about the future as the pandemic lingers into a second year.

Asked when life would return to “normal,” 28% said within the next year and another 29% said it would take more than a year. Another 15% said things would get back to normal in four to six months. An almost equal number said they don’t believe the world will be as it was before the pandemic began.

Sixty-seven percent said the pandemic limits the time they spend with family and friends regardless of vaccination status. That number increases to 55% for those who identified as a conservative.

Exactly half of registered Republicans said they are not limiting time with others. Fewer Marylanders expressed concern that they or a family member would contract the virus.

“It has decreased a little, the concern about friends and family getting it,” said Kromer. “While it has decreased, Marylanders definitely recognize that it’s still very much here.”

Roughly six in 10 people said they were very or somewhat concerned about becoming ill. In March, that number was 71%.