What’s motivating people in the US to get COVID vaccines now? Not mandates, poll finds
The No. 1 reason people in the U.S. are getting a COVID-19 vaccine may surprise you, a new poll found.
The rise of the delta variant, along with hospitalizations and deaths, “was the biggest motivating factor” for getting vaccinated, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which published its finding on Sept. 28. The poll of 1,519 adults was conducted Sept. 13-22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Since June 1, 39% of adults said the surge in delta variant cases was the reason they got vaccinated, 38% attributed the uptick in hospitalizations, and 36% said “knowing someone who got seriously ill or died from the disease” motivated them to get the shot.
Thirty-five percent said one of those three was the “main reason” they got the vaccine, the foundation reported.
One-third of U.S. adults, meanwhile, said a “major reason” they got vaccinated was to travel or attend events where vaccination is required, while only 13% said it was their “main reason,” the poll found.
Nearly 19% said a “major reason” for getting vaccinated was because their employer mandated it, while 8% said it was their “main reason,” according to the poll.
An additional 15% who got vaccinated since June attributed their decision to the “FDA granting full approval” of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — though only 2% of the recently vaccinated selected it as their “main reason.”
Other reasons, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation survey, were:
Nearly 19% attributed their vaccination to “social pressure from family and friends.”
Only 5% percent said social pressure was their “main reason” for getting vaccinated.
Only 7% “cite a financial incentive from their employer as a major reason.”
Less than 1% said the financial incentive was their “main reason.”
“More than seven in ten U.S. adults” reported being at least partially vaccinated, KFF said. Hispanic adults and people ages 18 to 29 reported the “largest increases in vaccine uptake.” Seventy-three percent of Hispanic adults reported being vaccinated, followed by 71% of white adults and 70% of Black adults.
“Large gaps in vaccine uptake remain by partisanship, education level, age, and health insurance status,” KFF said.
About 55.5% of the total U.S. population is vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with just over 65% of those ages 12 and up fully vaccinated as of Sept. 29.
A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
A Sept. 10 CDC study found that people who weren’t fully vaccinated were 11 times more likely to die of COVID and 10 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who were fully vaccinated.
This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 2:03 PM with the headline "What’s motivating people in the US to get COVID vaccines now? Not mandates, poll finds."
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