COVID-19 Vaccines 2024-2025: Is America Ready and Willing?
COVID-19 vaccine myths of many types remain potent enough to raise public health experts' concerns about Americans' willingness to roll up sleeves this year.
Keeping a dangerous COVID-19 myth alive, 28% of survey respondents Incorrectly believe COVID-19 vaccines have led to thousands of deaths.
Being infected with SARS-CoV-2 is safer than being vaccinated against the virus, according to the erroneous belief of 1 in 5 adults surveyed.
COVID-19 vaccines have altered human DNA is a lingering belief among 15% of survey respondents, twice as many as in 2021.
Only 1 in 5 US adults are concerned that they will get COVID-19 or that a family member will be infected.
Less than half of respondents said they are somewhat or very likely to get the new COVID-19 vaccine "if it is recommended by the CDC."
66% say they feel the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks - lower than the proportion who feel that way about mpox, RSV, or MMR vaccination.
A trivalent vaccine against COVID-19, RSV, and flu would interest only half of US adults, according to the survey.
Flu vaccination was down by 5% in 2024 vs 2023, meaning that less than half of survey respondents took the shot this year.
When it comes to RSV shots, only about half would recommend that an eligible friend or family member talk to their physician about getting it.
Overall, many US adults continue to question the efficacy of established vaccines.
The collective American willingness to step up for a dose of the newly approved monovalent vaccine against infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus looks as though it will be blunted for the 2024-2025 respiratory virus season. The assessment is based on survey findings published in the summer 2024 Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge Monitor, which tracks national levels of health knowledge and misinformation over time.
The survey queried 1496 US adults between July 11 and 18, and the results suggest that ongoing misinformation on COVID-19 vaccines continues to erode confidence in the shot's safety and efficacy.
The findings reveal that relatively few Americans are concerned about getting COVID-19 themselves or about relatives becoming infected with the virus; further, less than half are somewhat or very likely to get their COVID vaccination this year. The willingness to be vaccinated against the flu is also on the wane as is acceptance of the new RSV immunization among eligible older adults.
Click through this short slide show for a snapshot of the vaccination environment that may confront primary care professionals this fall.
