COVID-19 vaccines: Will Americans get their shots?

Americans’ knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines is getting worse, not better, as misinformation spreads and vaccination willingness declines.

The findings were part of the Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge Monitor of summer 2024. Data from the query of 1,500 adults “suggest that many may be reluctant to get the updated vaccine,” said the results published by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania.

“With the CDC reporting that COVID-19 infection remains an ongoing threat and an updated vaccine available, now is the time to ramp up awareness both of the value of vaccinating against COVID-19 and of the risks of contracting the disease,” APPC Director Kathleen Hall Jamieson said in a news release. She referred to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the survey provides a running measure of public confidence in CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

This slideshow presents the figures describing Americans’ feelings about vaccines against COVID-19 and other diseases. All figures come from the report, “More in U.S. Accept Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation, and Willingness to Vaccinate Has Declined,” published Aug. 28.