In response to a recent poll, nearly one-half of adults said that they will “definitely” or “probably” get the newly recommended COVID-19 vaccine. Most said they probably would not get the shots for their children, however, according to the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor poll.
Among all adults, 23% responded that they would “definitely” get the new vaccine, 23% said they “probably” would, 19% said they will “probably not get” it, and 33% said they will “definitely not get” it.
The poll authors pointed out that the share of the public who said they intend to get the new COVID-19 vaccine is higher than the share who have received previous booster shots but not as high as the initial vaccine uptake back in 2020.
Interestingly, 37% of people who previously received a COVID-19 vaccine said that they probably or definitely will not get the new shot. KFF noted that in line with earlier vaccine rollouts during the pandemic, the groups most likely to report that they definitely or probably will get the new vaccine include adults aged at least 65 years (64%) and those who identify as Democrats (70%).
Despite public health recommendations that the COVID-19 vaccine should be administered to children aged 6 months old and older, only 39% of parents said they expect to get the vaccine for their children aged 12 to 17 years, 36% for children aged 5 to 11 years, and 34% for children aged 6 months through 4 years. In fact, more than one-half of parents with children in each age group responded that they probably or definitely will not get their children vaccinated.
The recent survey also indicated that a somewhat larger share of eligible adults said they expect to get an annual flu shot and a newly recommended vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) than plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine. “For example, most adults (58%) say that they have already gotten or expect to get a flu shot, and most adults ages 60 and older (60%) say they have already gotten or expect to get the new RSV vaccine (recommended for their age group),” according to the KFF press release.
As has been true throughout the pandemic, a much smaller share of Republicans (24%) than Democrats (70%) expect to get the new COVID-19 vaccine, representing a 46-point percentage gap.
“There are smaller, but still considerable, partisan divisions in intentions for these vaccines than for the COVID-19 shot: for example, 76% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans expect to get or have already gotten a flu shot this fall (a 25-point gap), while among those ages 60 and older, 79% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans expect to get or having already gotten an RSV vaccine (a 38-point gap),” KFF pointed out.
The poll suggested that Republicans are also less likely than Democrats to be confident that each of the three vaccines is safe. The biggest gap remains for the COVID-19 vaccine—84% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans are confident it is safe.
“The poll shows that most of the nation still trusts the CDC and the FDA on vaccines—but there is a partisan gap, and most Republicans don’t trust the nation’s regulatory and scientific agencies responsible for vaccine approval and guidance,” said KFF President and CEO Drew Altman.
This KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF. The survey was conducted September 6, 2023, to September 13, 2023, online and by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 1,296 U.S. adults in English (1,210) and Spanish (86). The sample included 1,014 adults (n = 57 in Spanish) reached through the SSRS Opinion Panel—a nationally representative, probability-based panel.
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