Most Americans Say They Probably Won’t Get an Updated COVID-19 Vaccine

Six-in-ten Americans said they will probably not get an updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Smaller shares said they probably will get an updated vaccine (24%) or have already received one (15%).

Concerns about side effects and feeling that the updated vaccine is personally unnecessary are the top two reasons for not getting the vaccine regardless of age, party, or race and ethnicity. About 60% of Americans said the vaccine isn’t needed, and a likewise amount are concerned about the vaccine’s side effects. About a quarter of those surveyed said they don’t get vaccines in general.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the updated vaccine to everyone ages 6 months and older ahead of the fall and winter months to help protect from severe disease and hospitalization.

Among adults ages 65 and older, 54% said they either plan to get an updated vaccine (27%) or have already received one (27%). In contrast, majorities of those under 65 said they do not plan to get an updated vaccine.

Regarding race, half of Asian adults and 49% of Black adults said they already received or probably will get an updated vaccine. (Pew numbers for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.) On the other hand, most white (62%) and Hispanic (58%) adults said they will probably not get an updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Views of the updated vaccine are sharply divided across partisan lines as well. Roughly 60% of Democrats said they will probably get the vaccine (39%) or already have (23%). By contrast, 81% of Republicans said they probably won’t get the vaccine. This pattern is consistent with Pew Research Center data from throughout the pandemic showing that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to be up to date with their vaccines.