Most Americans don’t plan to get vaccinated against the flu or COVID-19 this season, a new survey has found.
Fewer than two in five U.S. adults (38%) say they will definitely get a flu jab, and only one in four (26%) say they’ll get the updated COVID vaccine, according to a survey released Wednesday by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
This lack of interest extends to those eligible for an RSV vaccine (21%) and pneumococcal vaccine (24%), the survey found.
“Last flu season, an estimated 25,000 people in the U.S. died from flu or related complications and 75,000 from COVID-19 in 2023, demonstrating how dangerous these diseases can be,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a news release.
This appears to be driven by a lack of concern. Few U.S. adults are worried about themselves or a family member becoming infected with flu (17%), COVID-19 (20%), RSV (16%) or pneumococcal disease (17%).
Cohen and other leading health experts got vaccinated at an onside flu vaccine clinic following a press conference announcing the results of the NFID survey.
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