Most Vaccinated Adults Plan to Get Boosters: Poll

While the vaccinated may want boosters, the unvaccinated do not appear to be increasing their share of getting their shots

FRIDAY, Dec. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Most vaccinated American adults have every intention of getting booster shots, a new poll finds.

Only about one in five say they will not get it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey conducted with 1,820 U.S. adults between Nov. 8 and Nov. 22. About 23 percent of vaccinated adults have already received a booster shot in the United States, up sharply from October when it was 10 percent. In addition to the nearly one-quarter who have received their boosters already, 37 percent of vaccinated adults said they will definitely get one and 19 percent said they probably will do so. About 10 percent will probably not get one and 8 percent will definitely not, the survey found.

If everyone who expects to get a booster shot at this point follows through, 53 percent of all adults would receive a booster, according to the KFF report. But the potential threat of the omicron variant may prompt more to get their boosters, the KFF noted in a news release.

While the vaccinated may want boosters, the unvaccinated do not appear to be increasing their share of getting their shots, according to the report. Among women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, about 64 percent had received a vaccine compared to 73 percent of similarly aged women. The report noted that this may reflect worries about the vaccine’s effects on pregnancy, because only 39 percent of women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant are confident that the vaccines are safe for pregnant people.

The survey also found that 53 percent of adults said the pandemic had negatively affected their mental health, including 21 percent who said it has had a major negative impact. About 43 percent said the pandemic had made it harder for them to pay for basic necessities including housing, utilities, and food, including 56 percent of those with household annual incomes under $40,000, 56 percent of Black adults, and 52 percent of Hispanic adults.