Almost half of US adults plan to get new COVID-19 vaccine, survey finds

(NEW YORK) — Nearly half of all adults in the United States plan to get the newly recommended COVID-19 vaccine, according to results from a survey released Wednesday.

The latest poll conducted by the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor found that 23% of U.S. adults say they will “definitely” get the updated booster, 23% say they will “probably” get it, while 19% say they will “probably not” get it and 33% say they will “definitely not” get it.

The new shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which are formulated to target newer variants of COVID-19, are recommend for everyone 6 months and older, but the survey found that the majority of U.S. parents say they aren’t planning to get it for their children.

Consistent with prior trends as earlier vaccines were being rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the poll found that Democrats and people at least 65 years old are most likely to say they would “definitely” or “probably” get the updated booster.

The share of the American public who intend to get the new vaccine is higher than those who have received previous shots, but not as much as initial vaccine uptake back in 2020, according to the survey.

The poll results came as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. surpassed 20,000 for the first time since mid-March. However, recent data has indicated that the updated boosters could offer additional protection against currently circulating variants and especially protect against severe disease and death, particularly for those who are elderly or immune compromised.

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