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Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Nearly 40% of Americans say they won't get vaccinated against COVID-19 even if a shot becomes available, according to a survey released Friday by consulting firm Children's Health Defense. In the survey of more than 1,000 "likely voters," just over half said they planned to receive the vaccine, while the rest remain undecided.
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Just under 30% of respondents said they had concerns regarding the safety of any new vaccine against the coronavirus, with most suggesting the research and development process may have been "rushed" or that the vaccine "needs more testing," the organization said.
"The growing skepticism about the COVID vaccine is the rational response of a public now paying more attention to how this sausage is getting made," Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founder and chairman of Children's Health Defense, said in a statement.
Children's Health Defense, which is known for it's anti-vaccine activism, commissioned John Zogby Strategies to conduct the survey. The firm specializes in research for private companies, as well as U.S. government agencies.
Trials of several potential vaccines against COVID-19 are ongoing, and Trump administration officials have said they expect initial doses to be available before the end of the year.
However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this week that it won't approve a vaccine until sufficient safety data exists, which may impact that timeline.
The Children's Health Defense survey included 1,006 respondents, all age 18 years and older and registered voters, the organization said.
The survey was launched hours after President Donald Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment, Kennedy said.
Although 51% of respondents said they planned to get the vaccine after it's introduced, 36% said they wouldn't, while the rest were undecided, the data showed.
Although Children's Health Defense is known primarily for its anti-vaccine stance, other surveys of Americans' interest in receiving inoculations against COVID-19 have had similar findings.
In August, a Gallup poll found that 35% of Americans would refuse the vaccine, with those who identify as Republicans most skeptical.
Still, more than 65% of respondents in that survey said they would obtain the vaccine, the data showed.
A separate survey conducted earlier this year by the University of Minnesota and Johns Hopkins University found that most Americans believe front-line health workers and other at-risk groups should be given priority when or if a vaccine is made available.
