KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: March 2023

Key Findings

• With the top of the general public well being emergency (PHE) and the impacts that may have on the well being care system, one in 5 adults have heard “nothing in any respect” concerning the Biden administration’s plan to finish the COVID-19 PHE. Six in ten (59%) adults suppose the top of the PHE could have “no impression” on them and their household and nearly half (46%) say it gained’t have an effect on the nation total. The top of the PHE is an even bigger concern to some teams who’ve been extra negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic, together with individuals of colour and people with decrease family incomes.
• The most recent KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor stories 1 / 4 of adults (23%) saying they’ve obtained the bivalent booster, the newest model of the COVID-19 vaccine that turned obtainable in September 2022. As discussions surrounding the timing of boosters proceed, about half of adults say they’re prone to get a COVID-19 vaccine yearly if one was supplied in that timeframe, like a flu shot, together with one in three (32%) who say they’re “very possible” to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinated adults and people who already obtain annual flu photographs are among the many largest shares to say they’re prone to get an annual COVID-19 booster.
• About two-thirds of U.S. adults say they’ve both examined constructive for COVID-19 (55%) or thought they’d it even when they didn’t take a look at constructive (13%). This leaves round one-third of adults who don’t suppose they’ve had COVID-19. On the subject of who hasn’t had COVID but, smaller shares of these ages 65 and older and Democrats report testing constructive for or pondering they’ve had the virus in some unspecified time in the future.
• When those that say they’ve by no means had COVID are requested to say, in their very own phrases, why they consider they haven’t been contaminated, 24% say they’ve averted different individuals and crowds or stayed house. One other 14% say they’re usually wholesome or have a superb immune system. Round one in ten say they haven’t had COVID as a result of they wore a masks (11%), they have been vaccinated (10%), or they have been usually cautious and took hygiene precautions (10%). Fewer than one in ten (6%) say they have been fortunate. Related shares throughout partisan traces cite avoiding individuals and staying house as their reasoning for by no means having COVID-19, however bigger shares of Republicans than Democrats say they’re wholesome with a superb immune system (22% v. 5%) whereas bigger shares of Democrats than Republicans say carrying a masks was the primary purpose they haven’t contracted the virus (20% v. 1%). 

The Ending Of The Public Well being Emergency

On Could 11, 2023, the Biden administration intends to finish the nationwide emergency and public well being declarations associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency declarations, which have been put in place by President Donald Trump in early 2020, giving the federal authorities flexibility to waive or modify sure necessities in a spread of areas, together with within the Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP applications, and in non-public medical health insurance.

One in 5 adults have heard “nothing in any respect” in relation to the Biden administration’s plan to finish the COVID-19 public well being emergency (PHE), with a further 30% saying they’ve heard “not an excessive amount of.” That leaves round half of adults saying they’ve heard a minimum of “some” concerning the finish of the PHE, together with 10% who’ve heard “rather a lot.”

Older adults have been one of the crucial extremely impacted teams by COVID-19 – adults ages 50 and older usually tend to have heard “rather a lot” or “some” concerning the finish of the general public well being emergency, with 57% who say so, in comparison with 42% of these beneath 50.

One other impacted group by the pandemic, the uninsured, are much less prone to have heard concerning the finish of the PHE. Virtually half (48%) of insured adults beneath the age of 65 have heard “rather a lot” or “some” concerning the plan to finish the PHE, in comparison with 31% of these with out insurance coverage.

Lower than half of Black adults (43%) and Hispanic adults (42%) have heard a minimum of “some” concerning the finish of the PHE, in comparison with half of White adults (51%). Related shares of Democrats, Republicans, and independents have heard a minimum of “some” concerning the finish of the PHE.

Six in ten (59%) adults suppose the top of the COVID PHE could have “no impression” on them and their household and nearly half (46%) say it gained’t have an effect on the nation total.

Related shares say they suppose the top of the general public well being emergency could have a “constructive impression” (20%) or a “adverse impression” (21%) on them and their household. A couple of quarter of the general public (27%) say it is going to have a “constructive impression” on the nation, whereas one other quarter (26%) suppose the top of the general public well being emergency could have a “adverse impression” on the nation total.

The top of the PHE is an even bigger concern to some teams who’ve been extra negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with round three in ten Black adults (29%) and one-third of Hispanic adults reporting that the top of the COVID-19 public well being emergency could have a adverse impression on them and their household, in comparison with 16% of White adults. Three in ten adults (31%) residing in households with incomes of lower than $40,000 say the top of the PHE could have a adverse impression on them and their household, in comparison with one in ten of these with incomes of $90,000 or extra.

The Future Of Bivalent Boosters within the U.S.

The most recent KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor stories 1 / 4 of adults (23%) saying they’ve obtained the bivalent booster, the newest model of the COVID-19 vaccine that turned obtainable in September 2022. Barely greater than half of the general public say they’ve both obtained an older booster dose however not the newest model (25%) or obtained preliminary full course of vaccines however no booster doses (25%). One in 4 adults within the U.S. report being unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

Adults ages 65 and older and Democrats are among the many teams with the most important shares saying they’ve gotten the bivalent booster dose, with round 4 in ten who report getting their shot (42% of these ages 65 and older, and 41% of Democrats).

The Meals and Drug Administration has begun discussions of what the way forward for the COVID-19 vaccinations will appear to be for People and the way typically booster doses can be obtainable. One chance introduced by the FDA could be for the COVID-19 vaccine to be supplied yearly, just like the flu shot, because the impression of COVID-19 booster doses have been proven to fade after about six months.

About half of adults say they’re prone to get a COVID-19 vaccine yearly if one was supplied in that timeframe, like a flu shot, together with one in three (32%) who say they’re “very possible” to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinated adults, particularly those that have obtained a booster dose, are among the many almost definitely to say they’d get a COVID-19 vaccine yearly. Eight in ten adults who’ve obtained a booster dose of the vaccine say they might be prone to get an annual vaccine, together with greater than half who say they’re “very possible.” Among the many vaccinated adults who haven’t obtained the recommended boosters, willingness to get an annual vaccine lags, with lower than half (42%) saying they might be prone to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine. As well as, about one in ten of those that are solely partially vaccinated or unvaccinated say they might be prone to get a COVID-19 vaccine yearly.

Those that get annual flu photographs are extra possible than those that don’t usually get flu photographs to say they might be prone to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine. Three-fourths (76%) of those that say they usually get an annual flu vaccine (which is about 53% of all adults) say they’d be prone to get one, in comparison with 26% who don’t usually get their annual flu shot. About half (51%) of those that don’t get an annual flu vaccine say they’re “under no circumstances possible” to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine.

Individuals Report Varied Causes For By no means Having COVID-19

About two-thirds of U.S. adults say they’ve both examined constructive for COVID-19 (55%) or thought they’d it even when they didn’t take a look at constructive (13%). This leaves round one-third of adults who don’t suppose they’ve had COVID-19. The share of adults who don’t suppose they’ve had COVID-19 will increase to almost half of adults 65 and older, a gaggle that had earlier entry to vaccines and booster doses resulting from elevated dangers and problems from the virus.

A barely bigger share of Democrats in comparison with Republicans say they don’t suppose they’ve had COVID-19 (36% v. 25%), which can be associated to each larger vaccination charges amongst Democrats in addition to that group being extra prone to report taking “rather a lot” of precautions (54% v. 24%) to not get sick.

Notably, there is no such thing as a distinction within the share who say they’ve had COVID between vaccinated and unvaccinated adults (68% v. 70%). There may be additionally no distinction within the share who say they’ve had COVID between teams who report taking “rather a lot” or “some” precautions towards COVID-19 (comparable to carrying a masks or avoiding giant crowds) versus those that report taking “not too many” or no precautions in any respect (69% v. 67%).

Most individuals (64%) who haven’t had COVID-19 suppose they’ve averted the virus as a result of they’ve been cautious and brought precautions. That is greater than twice the share who attribute their lack of sickness to being fortunate (29%). Lower than one in ten (6%) say COVID isn’t actually current of their space.

Most Democrats (72%), adults ages 50 and older (70%), and vaccinated adults (68%) who haven’t gotten sick attribute it to being cautious and taking precautions. Whereas half of Republicans who haven’t gotten sick additionally say it’s as a result of they’ve been cautious, about 4 in ten (39%) cite being fortunate as their purpose for not getting COVID.

Bigger shares of unvaccinated adults than those that are vaccinated say that COVID isn’t actually current of their space (19% of unvaccinated adults v. 3% of vaccinated adults).

When those that haven’t gotten COVID have been requested to offer what they suppose the primary purpose was in their very own phrases, a few quarter (24%) supply responses associated to avoiding different individuals and crowds or staying house. One other 14% attribute it to the truth that they’re usually wholesome or have a superb immune system. Round one in ten suppose they haven’t had COVID as a result of they wore a masks (11%), they have been vaccinated (10%), or they have been usually cautious and took hygiene precautions (10%). Fewer than one in ten (6%) supply responses associated to them being fortunate.

Related shares throughout partisan traces cite avoiding individuals and staying house as their reasoning for by no means having COVID-19, however bigger shares of Republicans than Democrats say they’re wholesome with a superb immune system (22% v. 5%) whereas bigger shares of Democrats than Republicans say carrying a masks was the primary purpose they haven’t contracted the virus (20% v. 1%).