Vaccine Monitor: Eagerness to Get Vaccinated Begins to Level Off as Most People Who Want a Vaccine Have Gotten One; But Republicans Show Biggest Shift Toward Vaccination

Most adults (56%) nationally report having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and few (9%) report not having received it immediately, creating a new challenge for vaccination efforts of the country shows the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.

With all adults now nationwide eligible for the vaccine, the proportion of those who said they had been vaccinated rose sharply in the past month (from 32% to 56%), while the proportion of those who did so as soon as possible hope to get a similar value margin fell (30% to 9%).

Taken together, this most enthusiastic group rose only marginally from 61% in March to 64%, suggesting that increasing vaccination rates beyond this point will require other less enthusiastic people to switch, and that vaccination rates may be few after that point Go forward inches.

Movement was seen for one of the groups where a large proportion of the people were still not ready to get a COVID-19 vaccine, Republicans. A majority (55%) now say they have already received a shot or intend to do so as soon as possible, compared to 46% in March, and another 14% would like to “wait and see”. One in five (20%) still says that they will definitely not be vaccinated. That is a 29% decrease in March, although it is still higher than the proportion of Democrats (4%) or Independents (13%).

The monitor now shows that 15% of adults say they want to wait and see how the vaccine works for others before getting one that has barely changed since March (17%), and another 6% who say that they are only vaccinated when it is necessary for work, school or other purposes. Another 13% who say they "definitely won't" be vaccinated are also largely unchanged since March.

“The fact that a majority of Republicans are or would like to be vaccinated and fewer of them say a definitive no shows that progress can be made with the most reluctant groups, even if the transition from no to yes is slow. Drew Altman, President and CEO of KFF, said.

The lack of information remains a barrier for many unvaccinated people, especially Hispanic adults. About 3 in 10 (29%) total and 42% of Hispanic adults say they aren't sure about getting a vaccine in their state, even though all adults are now eligible.

Most (88%) of those who have not yet been vaccinated say they have not made an appointment. When asked why not, those in the “wait and see” category were most likely to express a desire for more people to receive the vaccine (23%) and concerns about safety and side effects (14%). In contrast, those who want to receive it "as soon as possible" but have not yet made an appointment, most often cite logistical concerns and information needs.

When those who say they "definitely won't" get a COVID-19 vaccine are asked if there is anything that could convince them to change their mind, 72% say "no". The others give a variety of answers, the most common being that more research is being done on the vaccines.

"People who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine at this time cite a number of reasons, ranging from safety concerns to lack of information to problems accessing vaccines," said Mollyann Brodie, executive vice president of KFF . "There is no one-size-fits-all approach to reaching these different groups and different strategies will be required."

Confidence in the safety of the J&J vaccine lags behind other vaccines after a 10-day hiatus over blood clots

After federal authorities suspended use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for 10 days in April over concerns about rare blood clots, the public is significantly less confident about its safety than the other two COVID-19 vaccines currently also in are available in the United States.

While most people have at least some confidence in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines overall (71%) and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (69% each), less than half (46%) say they trust in the safety of having the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

28% of those who say they want to “wait and see” before vaccination say they believe the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe. Those who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine are less likely than those who need to express confidence in the safety of the vaccines across the board.

Roughly one in five unvaccinated adults said the news caused them to change their mind about a COVID-19 vaccine, including 9% who said they were less likely to want the Johnson & Johnson vaccine 7 % who said it made them less likely to want a COVID-19 vaccine; and 4% who said it changed their minds about the vaccines in other ways.

39% of Hispanic women said they changed their minds, including 15% who said they were less likely to want the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and 18% who said they were less likely to get COVID-19 Want vaccine.

Concerns about the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to grow. Of those who don't want to be vaccinated, 81% say they fear the vaccine could cause serious side effects, up from 70% last month. 92% of women say they are concerned about side effects, up from 77% in the last month.

Even with these growing concerns, the rate of enthusiasm for vaccination among women does not seem to have slowed disproportionately over the past month. Two-thirds (66%) of women say they have been vaccinated or will do so as soon as possible, compared with 63% of men.

Most parents are anxious to get a vaccine themselves and are also anxious to vaccinate their children when they are able

The Pfizer vaccine is now available to 16- and 17-year-olds and could be approved for use in children ages 12-15 as early as next week. Studies are currently underway to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of all vaccines in younger children. Once it becomes available, the latest Monitor report suggests that parents' willingness to have their own children vaccinated largely reflects their views on the vaccine for themselves.

Three in ten parents of children between the ages of 12 and 15 say they will vaccinate their child as soon as a COVID-19 vaccine is approved and available for their child's age group. A quarter (26%) say they will wait a while to see how the vaccine works before vaccinating their child. 18% say their child will only be vaccinated if the school requires it and 23% say they will definitely not get their child vaccinated.

Among parents of children under 18 who have already been vaccinated or are hoping to get a vaccine as soon as possible, most say they vaccinate their children right away (48%) or wait a while to see how it works (29%)). 63% of parents who wait and see themselves say they will also wait before having their child vaccinated. And most (58%) parents who say they definitely will not be vaccinated or will only be vaccinated when needed say they will definitely not vaccinate their children.

Other important results are:

• 30% of those who do not wish to receive a vaccine say they would be more likely to receive a vaccine if it were offered to them where they would normally receive medical care, and a similar proportion (29%) say that they were more likely to get a vaccine only needed a single dose of a vaccine.

• Similarly, 30% of those who do not want to be vaccinated as soon as possible say they would be more likely to do so if airlines needed vaccinations to fly, and almost as many (26%) would be more likely to do so if they would have to attend large gatherings such as sporting events and concerts. Young adults are more likely than older to say that such requirements would encourage them to get vaccinated.

In addition, KFF will be releasing an accompanying Vaccine Monitor report next week, focusing on Hispanic adults.

Designed and analyzed by KFF pollsters at the KFF, the KFF Vaccine Monitor survey was conducted April 15-29 among a nationally representative sample of 2,097 randomly selected adults, including over-samples of adults who were black (507) or Spanish (778) are. . The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish via landlines (298) and mobile phones (1,799). The margin of error in the sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the entire sample. 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, trusted ambassadors and messages, and the public's experience of vaccines.