Most Unvaccinated Adults Don’t Believe the Vaccines are Very Effective and See the Vaccines as a Greater Health Risk than COVID-19 Itself

Vaccinated adults are almost twice as likely as unvaccinated to fear that new variants like Delta will worsen the pandemic nationally and locally

With public health officials struggling to increase vaccination rates nationwide, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor reports that a slim majority (53%) of unvaccinated adults believe the vaccine poses a greater risk to their health than COVID- 19 itself.

In contrast, an overwhelming majority (88%) of vaccinated adults say that being infected with COVID-19 is a greater risk to their health than the vaccine.

Relatively small proportions of unvaccinated adults also believe that the vaccines are "extremely" or "very" effective in preventing death (23%), serious illness or hospitalization (21%), or post-exposure infection (13%), despite significant ones Evidence and conclusions from official scientific bodies that the vaccines work well for any of these things. Vaccinated adults are at least three times more likely to believe that the vaccines prevent these results.

Most (57%) unvaccinated adults also say the news "generally exaggerated" the severity of the pandemic, while three-quarters of vaccinated adults say the news was "generally correct" (53%) or was serious "Underestimated". (24%). Among those who say they “definitely won't” get a vaccine, 75% say the news is exaggerated.

The vastly different views of vaccinated and unvaccinated people help explain the controversy of the ongoing political debates about vaccination mandates.

For example, vaccinated adults are far more likely than unvaccinated adults to say that the federal government should recommend employers to require vaccinations for their workers (68% versus 16%). The general public is divided, with similar proportions saying the federal government should recommend it (51%) and not (45%).

Vaccinated adults are also more likely to report wearing masks in grocery stores and other indoor spaces (53% vs. 44%), at work (45% vs. 35%), or in crowded outdoor areas (45% vs. 35%). ).

These differences are in large part driven by unvaccinated Republicans. The majority of Republicans say they “never” wear a mask outdoors in crowded outdoor locations, at work, or in a grocery store. In all of these places, Democrats are more likely to say they wear a mask at least most of the time.

In action July 15-27, before developments on the Delta variant prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue new guidelines on masking, two-thirds (67%) of adults in July said they had at least one Dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, little changed from June (65%), as the pace of vaccinations has slowed at national level. Another 3% say they hope to get a vaccination “as soon as possible” and one in 10 (10%) say they want to “wait and see” how the vaccine works for others before they get one Get vaccination.

In addition, 3% said they would only be vaccinated “when needed” to do so for work, school or other activities, and 14% said they would “definitely not” get vaccinated. The size of the “definitely not” group hasn't changed much since KFF started tracking people's intentions in December.

At least eight in ten Democrats, adults 65 and older, and college graduates say they received at least one dose of vaccine. On the other hand, fewer than six in ten uninsured adults, Republicans, rural residents, and adults under the age of 50 say they received a vaccine.

A quarter of unvaccinated adults (8% of all adults) say they are likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. This includes almost half (45%) of the people in the “wait and see” group.

"A quarter of those who have not been vaccinated say they will likely get a vaccination by the end of the year," said KFF President and CEO Drew Altman. "Seeing her friends get sick and the local hospitals refill with COVID patients can speed them up and expand their ranks."

An accompanying Vaccine Monitor report, focusing on parents' views and intentions as schools prepare to reopen this fall, will follow next week.

Vaccinated adults are more concerned about new varieties like Delta that are making the pandemic worse

As the Delta variant of COVID-19 becomes the dominant strain in the US, the majority of the public say they are concerned that new virus variants are worsening the pandemic across the country (62%) and in their communities (55%) become.

Far more vaccinated than unvaccinated say they fear variants will worsen the pandemic both in the country (74% and 39%) and in their communities (65% and 34%). People who have been vaccinated are also more likely than those who have not been vaccinated that they will fall ill personally with the new variants (40% and 27%, respectively).

Most of those vaccinated, who have heard or read at least a little about the new variants, say that the news made them wear a mask in public more often (62%) and avoid large gatherings (61%). A lower proportion of unvaccinated adults say they are more likely to either wear a mask (37%) or avoid large gatherings (40%).

Further results are:

• Most adults (60%) say they have read or heard about that some people who have been vaccinated may need a booster dose of COVID-19 to maintain their protection. A quarter (24%) of vaccinated adults who have heard of the potential need to have a booster vaccination say they are concerned that they may not be well protected against the virus.
• Confidence in the safety of the three COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the US has not changed much since April. About three quarters (74%) of adults now say the vaccines are safe. Similar stocks say the Pfizer (72%) and Moderna (68%) vaccines are safe. About half (47%) say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe.

Designed and analyzed by pollsters at KFF, the KFF Vaccine Monitor survey was conducted July 15-27 among a nationwide representative sample of 1,517 adults, including an over-sample of adults who are Black (300) or Hispanic (322). . The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish via landlines (176) and mobile phones (1,341). The sampling error margin for the entire sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Results based on subgroups may have a higher sampling error rate.

The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor is an ongoing research project that tracks public attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations. Using a combination of surveys and qualitative research, this project tracks the dynamics of public opinion during the development and diffusion of vaccines, including the trust and acceptance of vaccines, the need for information, trustworthy messengers and messages, and the public's experience of vaccination.