UNH poll: Unvaccinated Granite Staters will quit job before getting COVID shot

President Biden ... UNH poll shows his approval numbers underwater when it comes to handling of COVID

DURHAM - Granite Staters are divided over President Biden's plan to require large employers to ensure employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or are tested weekly, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

According to the poll produced by the UNH Survey Center, nearly all of the unvaccinated respondents will leave their job if a COVID shot is required.

Overall, just under one in five New Hampshire adults say they will not get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Face mask usage since the last poll in June remained unchanged however stress related to the pandemic has increased.

Many Granite Staters expect the COVID-19 situation to get worse rather than better over the next six months, the poll found.

In the wake of President Biden's announcement of several proposals related to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time a majority of Granite Staters (51%) say that they disapprove of President Biden's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while 48 percent say they approve and 1% are unsure.

Disapproval of Biden's handling of the pandemic has increased since August (44%) and is considerably higher than when he first took office in January (30%).

Much of the numbers went along party lines, with 97 percent of Democrats approving of Biden's handling of COVID-19 but only 25 percent of Independents and 6 percent of Republicans feeling this way, the polling found.

The poll comprised 1,081 responses from Granite Staters between Sept. 16-20.

Other poll findings included that slim majorities support requiring healthcare workers and federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated while support is higher for requiring employers to provide paid time off for vaccinations.