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Marylanders are eager for booster shots, poll finds

Credit: Jernej Furman/Flickr
Credit: Jernej Furman/Flickr

A new Goucher Poll out Wednesday found that the vaccines that protect against COVID-19 are extremely popular in Maryland, with 83% of respondents saying they are likely or very likely to get a booster shot when it is available to them.

A majority of Marylanders also said they have limited in-person interactions with unvaccinated friends and family members over the last few months.

“That is a Thanksgiving Day sort of contention waiting to happen,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College, who runs the Goucher Poll.

The portion of people concerned that they or close family members will get the virus is 59%, down from 71% when the poll asked the same question in March, “which is exactly where we should be in a reality where 78% of Marylanders are vaccinated — at least adult Marylanders are vaccinated,” Kromer said.

But it’s not all positive news.

When asked when they expect to “be able to fully return to their normal, pre-COVID lives,” 28% of poll respondents said between six months and a year from now, and another 29% said more than a year from now.

“Our poll at least suggests that Marylanders do not expect things to turn the page or turn the corner next month,” Kromer said. “They still see it as an ongoing public health crisis.”

About one in six Marylanders said things will never return to normal.

Rachel Baye is a senior reporter and editor in WYPR's newsroom.
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