American Voters, including Republicans and Swing Voters, Support President Biden Helping Global Coronavirus Vaccine Efforts and Look to America to Lead

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of news that the Biden Administration will announce a global vaccine plan, which will include purchasing 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccines to donate to the world, newly released data by Data For Progress and David Binder Research, and commissioned by the Open Society Foundations, finds that American voters will emphatically support the President and want his continued leadership in global vaccination efforts.

The new white paper, Voters Want the U.S. to Take the Lead in Vaccinating the Rest of the World, surveys and assesses national likely voters' attitudes and support across the political spectrum towards global COVID-19 vaccination efforts and the world's recovery from the pandemic. 

Overwhelmingly, the findings establish a firm case of Americans' approval for the Biden Administration to go above and beyond the 500 million purchased doses. In fact, 79 percent of voters (including Republicans and Independents) support the U.S. helping global vaccination efforts and 76 percent support the U.S. being the leader to help vaccinate countries around the world.

"President Biden has saved countless American lives through his bold leadership in vaccinating Americans over the last few months and in the next few, he has the chance to save lives across the globe," said Tom Perriello, Executive Director of Open Society-U.S. "With this announcement, the President is not only meeting the moral urgency of this moment but also fulfilling a mandate from the American – to not only be a contributor, but to be a leader in this fight."

"Biden's announcement of 500 million doses is much closer to the type of numbers we should be talking about if we actually want to address the crisis of vaccine inequity," said Keifer Buckingham, Senior Policy Advisor at Open Society-US. "There are still many questions though, like how these vaccines will be produced and the timeline for which they will be available – we anticipate President will address these during the G7 Summit. But fact remains, dose sharing alone will not end this pandemic. The U.S. and our G7 partners must commit to tackling the underlying inequalities and structural barriers that perpetuate vaccine scarcity and inhibit low- and middle-income countries from producing their own vaccines."

The white paper also finds:

• Nearly 9 out of 10 likely voters agree that pharmaceutical companies, governments, and countries around the world should work collaboratively to help us recover from the pandemic as quickly as we can.
• 83 percent of voters want to share excess vaccine doses in the U.S. stockpile that would otherwise expire unused.
• Three- fourths want the U.S. to help countries like India who are overwhelmed by COVID-19.
• Broadly, voters think we should help other countries who are struggling with mutations of the virus and that may not have the resources to vaccinate their people.

"Our polling finds President Biden has a clear mandate: America must be a global leader to ensure we vaccinate the world," said Sean McElwee, Data for Progress Executive Director. "After four years of Trumpism and absence from the world stage, we find national voters strongly support America leading global efforts to distribute coronavirus vaccines. This support notably transcends partisan lines and should give the Biden Administration clear approval of their current and future humanitarian vaccine efforts."

"As part of the research, we spoke to swing voters in Pennsylvania. What is most surprising is that former Trump-Biden voters not only want America to help with vaccinating the rest of the world," said David Binder, pollster and founder of David Binder Research. "But that they believe it is a moral imperative for the country, and that COVID-19 and the economy will not get back to normal until the rest of the world has access to vaccines."

With world leaders convening at the G7 Summit tomorrow, President Biden has the opportunity to ask his peers to follow America's lead and commit – both money and resources – to dramatically increase vaccine availability around the world. The white paper outlines immediate policy actions for the Biden Administration that could further support a bold global vaccine initiative which includes scaling up global financing and dose sharing; supporting technology transfer and intellectual property reform; and increasing global manufacturing capacity, especially in the Global South.

The research reflects two phases of surveying, with the first based on two focus groups conducted in early May 2021 of primarily independent voters who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. The second survey was conducted in late May 2021 of 1,304 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. To view the white paper, visit dataforprogress.org/memos/vax-the-world.

About Open Society Foundations
Active in more than 120 countries, the Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people. Working with local communities, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education.

The Open Society Foundations were created in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros to support his network of foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. The Open Society Foundations have expanded their activities to other areas of the world where the transition to democracy is of particular concern. www.opensocietyfoundations.org/

About Data For Progress
Data for Progress is a progressive think tank and polling firm, which arms movements with data-driven tools to fight for a more equitable future. DFP provides polling, data-based messaging, and policy generation for the progressive movement, and advises campaigns and candidates with the tools they need to win. DFP polling is regularly cited by The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, CBS News, and hundreds of other trusted news organizations. Learn more at dataforprogress.org or follow DFP on Twitter at @dataprogress.

About David Binder Research
For over 25 years, David Binder Research has provided research and insight to political, government, and private sector clients. https://www.db-research.com/

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SOURCE Data For Progress