Is the COVID vaccine dangerous? Many unvaccinated Americans, mostly Republicans, falsely believe the vaccine is more hazardous than the coronavirus, survey finds

Ashley Kirzinger, Grace Sparks, Liz Hamel | Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) | August 5, 2021

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The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults (67%) saying they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine with an additional 3% saying they will get vaccinated as soon as they can, as of July 27th. Three in ten adults (31%) remain unvaccinated. Those who remain unvaccinated include 10% who say they want to “want and see” how the vaccines work for other people before getting vaccinated, 3% who say they will get a vaccine “only if required” to do so for work, school, or other activities (down from 6% in June), and 14% who say they will “definitely not” get the vaccine.

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Unvaccinated adults, especially those who say they will “definitely not” get a vaccine, are more likely to say they are not worried they personally will get seriously sick from the coronavirus and to believe that getting the vaccine is a bigger risk to their own health than getting the virus. Nine in ten of those who say they will “definitely not” get the vaccine are either “not too worried” or “not at all worried” about getting sick from the coronavirus and three-fourths of this group say getting the COVID-19 vaccine is a greater risk to their health than becoming infected with the coronavirus.