DesNews poll finds Utahns oppose Biden private-sector vaccine mandate

A new poll from the Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute of Politics shows what most officials could have guessed. The survey, taken through mid-October, shows Utah voters opposing Pres. Joe Biden’s private-sector vaccine mandate rules (either strongly or somewhat) topped 62 percent while 37 percent of those polled said they were in somewhat or strong support of the Biden proposal.

Business owners in Utah and across the nation are waiting for details of the plan that the president unveiled in September. The president said the government will issue rules that include requiring all U.S. businesses with 100 or more employees to require their workers to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face weekly testing for the virus.

The Deseret News quoted Gov. Spencer Cox as saying the poll results reflect that a clear majority of Utahns are in support of his own stance, that the Biden vaccine mandates represent an inappropriate intrusion into the free market.

“Like most Utahns, we agree that Pres. Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses is an overreach,” Cox said. “We firmly believe that employers should be able to decide what is best for their companies, according to free market principles.”

The newspaper said the poll showed a clear split between Republicans and Democrats on the issue. Among respondents who identified themselves as Republicans, 76 percent oppose Biden’s mandate while 78 percent of Democrats support it.