Roughly half of Americans are interested in getting the latest COVID-19 booster shot, according to a poll conducted by Reuters-Ipsos. The poll, which reflects attitudes heading into the fall immunization season, found that 30% of people are very interested in the shot, which is fine-tuned to target the XBB variant and sub-lineages that appeared earlier this year. Another 24% are somewhat interested in a booster, while 17% were “not very” interested and 30% were not interested at all. If individuals follow through on their eagerness, uptake of the latest booster would exceed the use of the “bivalent” booster that was offered in the fall of last year, with only 17% of the U.S. population receiving that shot.
The Biden administration is promoting the new shot as an annual rite, similar to the flu shot, in an attempt to prevent a wave of hospitalizations and deaths this fall. Despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations remain low, and previous polls have shown that many Americans have moved on from the crisis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended the boosters from Pfizer and Moderna for everyone 6 months and older. However, some public health experts argue that the blanket recommendation isn’t necessary and the booster effort should focus on at-risk groups, such as the elderly and those with preexisting conditions.
According to the Reuters poll, about 14% of those not interested in the shot cited previous COVID-19 infection as the reason, while another 14% believed their previous shot should be sufficient. Approximately 3% said they don’t need the vaccine due to their age group.
Drugmakers expect demand for COVID-19 shots to fluctuate or decrease, and they have increased the list price for the shots to over $100. This is because the government is no longer guaranteeing purchases, and the companies must cover their own costs and risks. However, most consumers will not have to pay out of pocket because they have insurance or can rely on government programs to cover the cost of the boosters.
The poll was conducted between September 8 and September 14 among 4,413 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of about 2 points.
