(HealthDay News) — Most vaccinated American adults have every intention of getting booster shots, a new poll finds.
Only about one in five say they will not get it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey conducted with 1,820 U.S. adults between Nov. 8 and Nov. 22. About 23% of vaccinated adults already have received a booster shot in the United States, up sharply from October, when it was 10%. In addition to the nearly one-quarter who have received their boosters already, 37% of vaccinated adults said they definitely will get one, and 19% said they probably will do so. About 10% probably will not get one, and 8% definitely will not, the survey found.
If everyone who expects to get a booster shot at this point follows through, 53% of all adults would receive a booster, according to the KFF report. But the potential threat of the omicron variant may prompt more to get their boosters, the KFF noted in a news release.
Although the vaccinated may want boosters, the unvaccinated do not appear to be increasing their share of getting their shots, according to the report. Among women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, about 64% had received a vaccine compared with 73% of similarly aged women. The report noted that this may reflect worries about the vaccine’s effects on pregnancy, because only 39% of women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant are confident that the vaccines are safe for pregnant people.
The survey also found that 53% of adults said the pandemic had negatively affected their mental health, including 21% who said it has had a major negative effect. About 43% said the pandemic had made it more difficult for them to pay for basic necessities including housing, utilities and food, including 56% of those with household annual incomes under $40,000, 56% of Black adults and 52% of Hispanic adults.
