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International Study Shows COVID-19 Vaccine Likely Uptake on the Rise

VOA News

   An international study shows an upward
   trendinsupportforreceivingCOVID-19 vaccinesin several
   countriescomparedto the end of 2020, with the biggest increase in
   Britain and Sweden.

   Multinational communication firm Kekst CNCMondaypublished the results
   of the surveyconducted in six countries -- Britain,France, Germany,
   Japan, Sweden, andUnited States.

   The poll indicated89%ofBritonswere in favor of
   gettingvaccinatednow,compared to 65%last September.
   The AstraZeneca vaccine is prepared in the COVID-19 vaccination center
   at the Odeon Luxe Cinema in Maidstone, Britain, Feb. 10, 2021.

   In Sweden,76%of those interviewed werein favor ofinoculation,compared
   to51%in September 2020.

   The study showsthat 68%of men worldwide supportvaccination,the ratio is
   lower among womenat55%.

   Older andmiddle-agedpeople have become morelikelyto get avaccine since
   September, the surveyfound.

   The study also shows that75%ofBritons are pleased with thepace
   ofthevaccination campaign in the country, but the ratiodropsin the
   othercountriessurveyed, to 32%in U.S.,22%in France and 20%in Sweden.

   Kekst CNCconductedthesurveyin mid-February over ten days,with samplesof
   1,000 adults in each countryandmargin of errorof3.3percentfor
   allparticipating counties.

   Sunday, aU.S. Centers for Disease Controland Preventionadvisory
   panelendorsed theJohnson & Johnsonvaccine, voting overwhelmingly to
   recommend the shot foradults older than18.

   CDC recommendationsare not binding butare widely respected by medical
   institutions and professionals.CDC Director RochelleWalenskylater
   approved the panel's recommendations.
   FILE - Vials of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen coronavirus disease
   (COVID-19) vaccine candidate are seen in an undated photograph.

   Sunday's CDC endorsement came one day after the U.S. Food and Drug
   Administration formally authorized the use oftheone-dose vaccine.

   Nearly 4million doses of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine willbe distributed
   and available as early as Tuesday morning, according to a senior
   administration official.This vaccine, the third to be approved for use
   in the United States, will be distributed to states, tribes and
   territories proportional to their populations -- the same way the
   Pfizer-BioNTechand Moderna vaccines have been distributed.

   Health officials in the U.S. welcomed the third vaccine, which has
   beeneagerlyawaited largely because it requires only one shot,
   butofficialsurged Americans to receive whichever vaccine is first
   available to them, reiterating that all three have provedto be safe and
   effective.

   The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 85% effective against serious illness,
   hospitalization and death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the
   coronavirus, according to data from a study that spanned three
   continents. The shot kept its protection even in the countries where
   the South African variant is spreading.

   Johnson & Johnson is also seeking authorization for emergency use of
   its vaccine in Europe and from the World Health Organization.

   As of Sunday evening,about28.6million Americans have had COVID-19
   andmore than513,000 have died from the disease, according to the Johns
   Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center.

   The U.S. continues to lead the world in the number of coronavirus
   infections, followed by India withmore than11 million infections and
   Brazil with more than 10.5 million.

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