Majority of vaccinated adults say they’ll get a booster, KFF poll finds

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

Most fully vaccinated adults in the United States say they plan to get a booster, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation survey.

Demand for booster shots has increased dramatically over the past month — about 60% of fully vaccinated adults say they’ve already gotten their booster or “definitely” will. But nearly one in five fully vaccinated adults say that they “probably” or “definitely” won’t get a booster, despite recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do so.

The latest KFF Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor survey was conducted for two weeks in mid-November. All fully vaccinated adults became eligible to receive a booster dose at the end of the survey period, but the CDC issued guidance encouraging all vaccinated adults to get boosters and information about the new Omicron variant became public after the survey ended. Findings are drawn from a nationally representative sample of 1,820 adults.

At least half of adults across political parties and racial and ethnic groups already have or say they definitely will get a booster dose, but intent among older Republicans is notably lower than average.

Overall, more than two-thirds (69%) of adults older than 50 have already received their booster shot or say that they definitely will, according to the latest survey. Among Democrats in this age group, about 87% already have or definitely plan to. But among older Republicans, only 58% said the same. Nearly 30% of older Republicans said they definitely or probably would not get a booster, compared to only about 6% of older Democrats.

Young Black and Hispanic people are also less likely than average to say they’ll get a booster shot. About two in five Black and Hispanic adults under the age of 50 said that they already have or definitely will get a booster dose, compared to nearly three in five young White adults who said the same.

Once optimistic about the promise of Covid-19 vaccines, most Americans now say they feel frustrated over the country’s current status, the latest KFF survey found.

Staunch political divides seen in attitudes toward booster shots persist in attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccinations overall and extend to workplace mandates.

About one in seven adults (14%) still say that they will “definitely not” get vaccinated, a share that has held steady all year. And only about 5% of adults plan to get vaccinated “as soon as possible” or “only if needed,” leaving very little room for the country’s overall vaccination rate to change.

More than a quarter of Republicans say that they will “definitely not” get vaccinated, along with more than one in five rural residents, White Evangelical Christians and adults under the age of 65 who are uninsured, according to the latest KFF survey data.

Political division in attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines extends beyond personal choice, too, findings from the survey suggest.

Americans are split on their opinions of how well President Joe Biden has been handling the pandemic, with 44% of those surveyed saying they approve and 48% saying they do not.

The administration’s decision to mandate vaccination or weekly testing for employees of large companies is one of the latest divisive policies, with opinions again falling along party lines. The vast majority of Republicans (79%) oppose the federal policy, while most Democrats (86%) favor it. Opinions are similarly divided by vaccination status, with most vaccinated adults in favor and most unvaccinated adults against.

The federal policy is on hold as it is debated in a federal appeals court, but more than a third of workers at companies with at least 100 employees said that they already have a vaccination requirement and another 17% want their employer to impose one. Vaccine requirements are much less common at smaller companies; only about 11% said a vaccine requirement was already in place and another 20% would want their employer to impose one.

Since January, frustration has replaced optimism as the most common feeling toward the status of vaccines in the country, according to KFF survey data. Less than half (48%) of adults say they feel “optimistic” about vaccinations in the US, down from a third (66%) in January, while the share of those feeling frustrated rose from 50% to 58%.

Feelings of anger over vaccines have also increased among Americans, up from about a quarter in January to nearly a third in November. And more than a quarter of adults still say that they are confused.

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