Most Americans Trust Routine Vaccines, Fewer Trust Covid-19 Vaccines

Most U.S. adults say they are at least somewhat confident in the safety of many routine vaccinations, but far fewer trust the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine. A survey by the KFF, an independent polling company, found that 83 percent of people had some or a lot of confidence in measles vaccines, while 74 percent felt the same for the flu vaccine. Among adults ages 50 and older, for whom these vaccines are recommended, trust in vaccines for pneumonia (82 percent) and shingles (79 percent) was also high. By contrast, only 56 percent of U.S. respondents said they were somewhat or very confident on the Covid-19 vaccines.

This differed based on partisan divides, with greater mistrust among Republicans (30 percent), compared to independents (55 percent) and Democrats (87 percent). Trust levels were generally lower across each of the vaccines among Republicans compared to Democrats. U.S. adults had the most trust in the MMR vaccine of the shots polled, followed by trust in the vaccines for pneumonia, shingles and the flu.

The survey found that an information gap persists in the U.S. over the mRNA technology with 52 percent of respondents saying that they do not know enough about it to say whether or not they would consider it safe. Misinformation continues to hinder trust, as 45 percent of the public report having heard the false claim that mRNA vaccines can alter a person’s DNA. Although only 3 percent think this claim is “definitely true”, KFF analysts highlight how many are uncertain, saying it is either “probably true” (26 percent) or “probably false” (45 percent). These responses again differ depending on party affiliation, with Republicans more often leaning towards believing the myth.