Study Shows Why Some Illinoisans Are Refusing COVID Shot

If you're someone who's been experiencing "vaccine hesitancy," it may seem like you're the lone hold-out among people you know, or the public in general. However, that's just not the case at all.

Looking at Illinois' vaccination numbers at UsaFacts.org, makes it clear that Illinoisans who are reticent to get the COVID-19 vaccinations, no matter which one, number nearly half of our state's population. In Illinois, 8,480,024 people, or 66% of the state, has received at least one dose. Overall, 6,588,930 people or 51% of Illinois's population has been fully vaccinated.

Getty Images

In Illinois, More Women Are Getting The COVID-19 Vaccines Than Men

The percentage of fully-vaccinated women in Illinois is at 57.49, or about 3.7 million women. The percentage of fully-vaccinated men in Illinois is at 52.11, or around 3.2 million. That still leaves nearly half of both genders here in Illinois saying no to getting the COVID shots.

Getty Images

Is Your Reason For Not Getting The Vaccine The Same As Everyone Else Who Is Saying No?

According to a study on vaccine hesitancy done by QuoteWizard.com, there a several key reasons that Americans are taking a pass on the COVID vaccines. The main reasons across the country are:

Concern over possible side-effects
Don't believe they need the vaccine
Plan to wait and see if it's safe
Don't trust the COVID-19 vaccines
Don't trust the government
Don't think COVID-19 is a big threat

Getty Images

The study breaks down the numbers for each individual state, but for the purpose of discussion, we're just going to look at Illinois' numbers from the QuoteWizard.com study. For Illinois, one reason stands out above all the others by a substantial distance: concern about side effects was the reason given by 65 percent of unvaccinated Illinois residents. Here are the other reasons, along with their percentages (respondents could choose more than one reason, so the numbers won't add up to 100%):

Don't trust the government/don't trust the COVID-19 vaccines: 40%
Plan to wait and see if it's safe: 35%
Don't believe they need a vaccine: 28%
Don't think COVID is that big of a threat: 21%

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.