National survey finds J&J vaccine pause awareness high, yet more Americans are inclined to vaccinate
May 4, 2021

James Druckman, the Payson S. Wild Professor of Political Science and Institute for Policy Research associate director is part of a university research consortium, comprising Northwestern, Harvard, Northeastern, and Rutgers, which investigated COVID-19 vaccine rates and attitudes among Americans.
The consortium surveyed more than 18,750 individuals across the U.S. to measure attitudes about vaccination between April 1 and 26. The survey suggests the pause of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine on April 13 did not have negative effects on vaccination attitudes. About 74% of respondents were aware of the pause, but vaccine hesitancy and resistance did not increase after the pause. However, after the pause respondents said they preferred Pfizer over Moderna and they preferred Moderna over J&J.
“This is an encouraging finding that people seem to understand and trust the reality that science requires due diligence, and the disruption should not be taken as news to not get the vaccine,” said Druckman.
Read the findings of this survey.
Faculty

Northwestern accelerates quantum research with NVIDIA technology
September 19, 2025
NVIDIA code could help researchers tackle computationally demanding tasks hindering quantum research Northwestern University physicists are using NVIDIA technology to tackle the computationally demanding tasks hindering quantum research. Northwestern theoretical physicist Jens Koch and his research group…

Weinberg College welcomes new faculty members for 2025-2026 academic year
September 18, 2025
Shreeya Behera Assistant Professor of Instruction PhD institution: The Ohio State University Previous title and institution: Data Scientist at Pandora Bio, Inc. Home department: Statistics and Data Science Shreeya Behera is a mathematician and data…

Weinberg College faculty and graduate students recognized for excellence in teaching
July 2, 2025
Each year, the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Provost recognizes members of the College’s tenure-line and teaching-track faculty for excellence in teaching. Weinberg College in addition recognizes the contributions…

Northwestern Scientists Launch Projects Using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory
June 24, 2025
With the release of its first images yesterday, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is one giant step closer to launching its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) — a decade-long astronomical investigation…