A new survey finds that the majority of Americans don’t plan to get vaccinated against flu or COVID-19 this season. Photo: Adobe Stock/HealthDay News
A majority of Americans don’t plan to get vaccinated against flu or COVID-19 this season, according to a new survey.
Fewer than two in five U.S. adults (38%) say they will definitely get a flu shot, and just one in four (26%) say they will get the latest COVID-19 vaccine, according to a survey released Wednesday by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
According to the survey, this lack of interest also extends to those receiving the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine (21%) and pneumococcal vaccine (24%).
“An estimated 25,000 people in the United States died from the flu or related complications last flu season, and 75,000 are expected to die from COVID-19 in 2023, showing how dangerous these diseases can be,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a news release.
This is likely due to a lack of concern: Few U.S. adults are worried about themselves or their family members catching the flu (17%), COVID-19 (20%), respiratory syncytial virus (16%), or pneumococcal disease (17%).
Cohen and other leading medical experts were vaccinated at an on-site flu vaccination clinic following a press conference announcing the NFID findings.
“By getting up-to-date vaccines to reduce your risk of severe illness from influenza and COVID-19, you can protect yourself and your loved ones and do more of the things you love,” Cohen said. “We encourage everyone 6 months of age and older to get their annual influenza vaccine and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks.”
According to CDC data, interest in getting vaccinated this season is even lower than last season, with fewer than half (45%) of adults having received the flu vaccine.
To make matters worse, only 46% of adults with chronic health conditions got the flu vaccine last season, the CDC said.
“Low vaccination rates among people with chronic medical conditions are of particular concern because they are more likely to develop serious, even life-threatening, complications from respiratory infections,” said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr., medical director for NFID.
Unfortunately, it seems like the first time you’re going to want to get the flu vaccine is after you’ve actually had the flu.
According to the NFID survey results, about 72% of U.S. adults diagnosed with influenza in the past two years say they are likely to get a flu shot.
According to the most recent data from the CDC, the 2023-2024 flu season in the United States will be of moderate severity, with an estimated 41 million illnesses, 490,000 hospitalizations, and 25,000 flu-related deaths.
Many of those who don’t plan to get vaccinated say they’re worried about potential side effects or have a general distrust of vaccines, according to the NFID survey.
“We must build trust by stepping up to empower people to make good, personal decisions using science and evidence when it comes to vaccines and other health choices,” Dr. Reed Tuckson, co-founder of the Black COVID Coalition, said in a NFID news release.
“The pandemic has taught us that it is possible to close some of the vaccination rate gaps among communities of color, but we still have a long way to go,” Tuckson added. “We know that evidence-based messaging, as well as guidance from familiar and trusted medical experts who work with underrepresented communities, is essential to building trust in the vaccine.”
More Information
Kaiser Permanente has more information about seasonal vaccines.
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