The number of vaccinated adults in the U.S. rose to 75% in September, while a majority of parents say they’ll get their children vaccinated upon FDA approval, according to two reports from Gallup published last week.
After an initial surge of COVID-19 vaccinations among adults (from 9% in January to 57% in April), rate increases slowed significantly, rising to 63% by May and 68% by June. The summer saw rates flatline at 69% before increasing six points in September.
Those who plan to be vaccinated ticked up three points to 80% in September, after remaining steady at 77% throughout the summer. This current rate is nine points above the initial Gallup poll in January.
Respondents from all parties saw an increase in adult vaccination rates between August and September, rising five points to 92% among Democrats, six points to 68% among Independents and seven points to 56% among Republicans. This marks the first time that a majority of Republicans have been fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19.
The number of adults not planning to get a COVID-19 vaccine has declined from 29% in February, to 23% in April to 20% in September. In addition, 5% of respondents who don’t plan to receive the vaccine say they have tested positive either for COVID-19 or for COVID-19 antibodies, providing them with a measure of immunity.
Homemakers are the most likely group of workers to say they won’t be vaccinated at 33%, followed by the unemployed (22%), the employed (21%) and retirees (14%).
Those who work in education are least likely to say they won’t be vaccinated, with only 7% doing so. By comparison, 33% of people in “blue collar” jobs, and 15% of both “white collar” and health care workers aren’t going to be vaccinated.
Gallup’s parent survey revealed that 55% plan to have their children under 12 vaccinated against COVID-19 following FDA approval. Doing so is most prominent among parents who identify as Democrats (90% plan to have their child vaccinated), followed by Independents (50%) and Republicans (21%).
While only 1% of unvaccinated parents plan to have their children receive the COVID-19 vaccine, there is some hesitancy even among vaccinated parents when it comes to their children. A strong majority (82%) plan to have their children receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but 18% currently do not.
Parents of children under 12 are more worried than parents with 12-18-year-olds about their child contracting COVID-19, with 56% saying they are “very” (24%) or “somewhat” (32%) worried. By comparison, 46% of parents with children 12 to 18 are “very” (15%) or “somewhat” (31%) worried.
A majority of Democrat-affiliated parents (82%) say they are very / somewhat worried about their children getting COVID-19, while only 44% of Independents and 24% of Republicans feel the same way.
While children now account for around 25% of current COVID-19 cases, and over 5.5 million children have tested positive to date, “parents of these young children … may be the hardest to persuade,” the report said.
“Without long-term safety data available, parents may be less inclined to subject their child to the vaccine. Additionally, the fact that most children infected with COVID-19 have mild infections or no symptoms and the hospitalization rate among children is far lower than that of adults may make parents think long and hard about whether vaccinating their child is the right decision.
The report on COVID-19 vaccinations among U.S. adults is available here.
The report on parents’ plans for vaccinating their children against COVID-19 is available here.
Managing editor for news and opinion at Good Faith Media.
