Half of Americans plan to get latest COVID-19 vaccine, intentions vary

One in five said they already have gotten the new vaccine that became available in September, with an additional 28% saying they definitely or probably will do so.

Winter is quickly approaching, when people will spend more time indoors and at crowded holiday gatherings. As the COVID-19 risk increases, just more than half of U.S. adults plan to get the latest vaccine, a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey found.

One in five said they already have gotten the new vaccine that became available in September, with an additional 28% saying they definitely or probably will do so. The rest said they definitely or probably will not get the new shot. This large group includes 31% of all adults who previously got a COVID vaccine but now say they don’t plan to get the updated version.

Among previously vaccinated adults who have not yet gotten the latest vaccine, half cite a lack of concern about getting the virus as a reason. Others said being too busy (37%), waiting to get it later (32%) or having had bad side effects after a previous dose (27%) are among the reasons why they haven’t gotten the new shot.

The survey found several sharp differences among various segments of the population:

Race. Although nearly 60% of Black and Hispanic adults say they already have been vaccinated or plan to do so, the same percentage of white adults said they definitely or probably will not get it.

Age. People who are at least 65 years old, a group especially at risk of severe COVID-19 illness, are among the most likely to say they already have gotten the new vaccine (34%).

Political affiliation. One-third of Democrats plan to get vaccinated, compared with 16% of independents and 11% of Republicans.

Heading into the fourth holiday season since COVID-19 emerged, most people are not too worried about its potential impact on themselves or their friends and families, the survey found. Three-fourths of the public said they are not too worried or not at all worried about getting COVID-19 over the holidays, which is almost three times the share who are very or somewhat worried (26%). At least two-thirds said they are not worried about spreading the virus to people close to them, more than twice the share who are worried (31%).

Aside from vaccination, the public is split on precautions being taken because of COVID-19 this fall and winter. Half of the public plans to take at least 1 of 5 potential precautions to reduce their risks:

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Groups that are more likely to take these precautions are majorities of Black adults (72%), Hispanic adults (68%) and Democrats (66%), and just more than half of vaccinated adults.

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