Coronavirus Pro-Vaxxers

Anti-vaxxers begone: Most U.S. adults said they would get a vaccine to protect themselves from the new coronavirus if one became available, according to a poll conducted by Morning Consult. Nearly 2,000 registered voters were polled two times: once at the end of January and another at the end of February. As the threat of the novel coronavirus has become more imminent, people are changing their perspectives on a possible shot.

In the January poll, 48 percent said they would get the vaccine. The following month, after the first Americans died from COVID-19—the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus—65 percent said they would take the vaccine if it became available.

The outbreak started in Wuhan, China, in December. Since then, more than 3,100 people have died and over 91,000 have been infected. More than 50,000 people out of the recorded infected have recovered. The World Health Organization has not yet labeled it a pandemic, which is defined as a contagious disease that spreads throughout the world.

In the U.S., at least 130 people have been infected with COVID-19 and nine have died. All the deaths happened in Washington state, where the virus spread in a Seattle-area nursing home.