A newly released poll by the Monmouth University concluded that about 24 percent of the American respondents said they would "never get the vaccine if they can avoid it." Another 21 percent said they prefer to let other people get vaccinated first to see how it goes.

The rates have remained virtually unchanged compared with findings in January, researchers at the Monmouth University wrote, noting that "partisanship remains the main distinguishing factor among those who want to avoid the vaccine altogether, with 36 percent of Republicans versus just 6 percent of Democrats saying this."

So far, 16 percent of Americans have been vaccinated, and 38 percent of respondents said they plan to get the shot as soon as they are allowed.

Despite the recent vaccine rollout, public expectations about when the country will get the epidemic under control have "moved in a more pessimistic direction over the past few months," the researchers wrote.

About 21 percent of Americans expected the situation could return to normal by the summer, down from 29 percent who said the same in late January. Another 40 percent anticipated normalcy by the end of this year, 27 percent said it would take longer than that, and 9 percent believed life could never return to normal.

The poll was conducted by telephone from February 25 to March 1, 2021, with 802 adults in the U.S. and released on Monday. 

As of Wednesday, the U.S. has recorded more than 29 million coronavirus cases and over 500,000 deaths, both the highest in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.