HPU Poll: Majority of North Carolina Adults Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

In the latest High Point University Poll, half (50%) of adults in North Carolina said they have received both doses of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, while 11% have received the single-dose vaccine, and 7% have received the first of two doses. Just less than one-third (31%) of adults in North Carolina said they have not been vaccinated.

About half (49%) of North Carolinians said they are concerned about becoming sick with COVID-19, and 38% said that they are not concerned. Only 8% of those surveyed said that they already tested positive for the virus, and 6% did not offer an opinion.

When asked about whether or not companies should be legally allowed to require employees to receive certain vaccines, North Carolinians were generally split. About two in five (41%) of respondents said companies should be legally allowed to require certain vaccines, while 50% said they should not. Another 9% of respondents did not offer an opinion.

The HPU Poll asked respondents how much they have heard about the delta variant of COVID-19. About half (48%) of the adults surveyed said that they have heard a lot about the variant, about two-fifths (41%) said they had heard a little bit, while only 10% said that they heard almost nothing or offered no opinion. When asked how concerned they were about this variant, about two in five (45%) of respondents said that they were either extremely concerned or very concerned. About a one-quarter (24%) said that they were somewhat concerned, 17% said that they were not very concerned, and 10% said that they were not at all concerned.

The HPU Poll also asked North Carolinians if they received the seasonal influenza vaccine this year. About two in five (44%) said yes and 55% said no. Of those that responded no, about one-fifth (21%) said that they intend to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine this year, while about two-thirds (66%) said that they do not. Another 12% offered no opinion either way.

“We continue to track concern that North Carolinians have about becoming sick with COVID-19,” said Brian McDonald, associate director of the HPU Poll and adjunct graduate school instructor. “That being said, we continue to see about one-third of those surveyed still telling us that they have not received the COVID-19 vaccine.”

“Vaccination continues to be the most important tool we have to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jordan Smith, assistant professor of clinical sciences at HPU’s Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy. “As COVID-19 variants like Delta demonstrate, the pandemic continues to pose challenges to our health care system. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, it will be important that people continue to take appropriate health care measures, such as vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza. This will ensure the best protection for themselves and their families, and to reduce the burden on our health care system.”

NC residents – COVID-19 Concern (November 2021)

Are you concerned about becoming sick with the COVID-19 virus, or are you not concerned about that?

Concerned– 49%

Not concerned – 38%

I already tested positive for COVID-19 – 8%

Don’t know/refused/unsure – 6%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

NC residents – COVID-19 Vaccine (November 2021)

Have you personally received the COVID-19 vaccine, or not? If yes, did you receive a single-dose vaccine, the first of two doses, or have you gotten both doses of a two-dose vaccine?

Yes, got single-dose vaccine – 11%

Yes, got the first dose of the two-dose vaccine – 7%

Yes, got both doses of a two-dose vaccine – 50%

No, have not gotten the vaccine – 31%

Don’t know/refused/unsure – 1%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

NC residents – Employer Requirements (November 2021)

Do you think companies should be legally allowed to require employees to receive certain vaccines?

Yes – 41%

No – 50%

Not sure – 9%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

NC residents – Delta Variant (November 2021)

How much have you heard about the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus?

A lot – 48%

A little bit – 41%

Almost nothing – 9%

Don’t know/refused/unsure – 1%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

NC residents – Delta Variant Concern (November 2021)

Given what you know about the delta strain of the COVID-19 virus, how concerned are you about that variant?

Extremely concerned – 20%

Very concerned – 25%

Somewhat concerned – 24%

Not very concerned – 17%

Not at all concerned – 10%

Don’t know/refused/unsure – 3%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

NC residents – Influenza Vaccine (November 2021)

Did you receive the seasonal influenza vaccine this year?

Yes – 44%

No – 55%

Not sure – 2%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

NC residents – Influenza Vaccine Intent (November 2021)

Do you intend to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine this year?

[ONLY ASKED OF RESPONDENTS SAYING ‘NO’ TO HAVING RECEIVED FLU SHOT, N = 489]

Yes – 21%

No – 66%

Not sure – 12%

(Telephone and online interviews with North Carolina residents, surveyed Nov. 11 – Nov. 19, n = 867 and credibility interval is +/- 3.6%)

The most recent HPU Poll was fielded by live interviewers at the High Point University Survey Research Center calling on Nov. 11 through Nov. 19, 2021, and an online survey was fielded at the same time. The responses from a sample of all North Carolina counties came from 867 adults interviewed online (811 respondents) as well as landline or cellular telephones (56 respondents). The Survey Research Center contracted with dynata, formerly Research Now SSI, to acquire these samples, and fielded the online survey using the SRC’s Qualtrics platform. This is a combined sample of live phone interviews and online interviews. The online sampling is from a panel of respondents, so their participation does not adhere to usual assumptions associated with random selection. Therefore, it is not appropriate to assign a classic margin of sampling error for the results. In this case, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points to account for a traditional 95% confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 3.3 percentage points) and a design effect of 1.2 (based on the weighting). The data is weighted toward population estimates for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education based on U.S. Census numbers for North Carolina. Factors such as question wording and other methodological choices in conducting survey research can introduce additional errors into the findings of opinion polls. Details from this survey are available here.

Further results and methodological details from the most recent survey and past studies can be found at the Survey Research Center website. The materials online include past press releases as well as memos summarizing the findings (including approval ratings) for each poll since 2010.