New Survey - 65% of Georgians Would Take COVID Vaccine If Available, Facebook Launches Worldwide Vaccine Info Campaign

Staff Report

Tuesday, February 9th, 2021

A new survey of 50 million Facebook users shows 65 percent of Georgians would definitely or probably take the COVID vaccine if offered. To support the effective delivery of the vaccine, Facebook is launching the largest worldwide campaign to promote accurate information about the COVID vaccine by providing insights on 1) vaccine attitudes, 2) where to get vaccinated, 3) funding vaccine information campaigns and 4) removing misinformation on the platform. 

One year after COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency, the vaccine is now top of mind for millions of Americans hoping to return to normalcy. 

The symptom survey project has received 50 million + responses to date and looks at which geographic areas are the most reluctant to receive the vaccine and could hold us back from reaching herd immunity.  

  • The interactive CMU map for Georgia is here.  

  • It shows the numbers vary statewide, 63% in Columbus and 69% in Savannah. 

Vaccine Attitude Insights: Facebook’s Data for Good program is providing new insights on vaccine attitudes in order to guide the distribution of the vaccine and increase immunization rates. 

Vaccine Distribution & Information: Facebook will soon feature links in the COVID-19 Information Center to local health websites to help people understand whether they’re eligible to get vaccinated and how to do so. This will make it easier to see where and when they can get vaccinated. 

Funding Vaccine Information Campaigns: Facebook is also announcing $120 million in advertising credits to health ministries and agencies around the world. 

The company will offer training and marketing support to help governments and health organizations move quickly and reach the right people with the latest vaccine information. Each state is eligible to use these ad credits and several states  have already utilized ad credits to share information with their residents.  

Vaccine Misinformation: Facebook is taking important additional steps to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccines, including:

  • Removing vaccine misinfo posts that are widely debunked hoaxes and removing additional false, harmful claims about COVID-19.

  • Removing more Facebook Pages and Groups and Instagram accounts that repeatedly share false COVID-19 conspiracy theories and other false vaccine claims.