About nine-in-ten (88%) Americans say, overall, the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella outweigh the risks, identical to the share who said this before the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. adults are less confident in COVID-19 vaccines: Fewer than half rate them as having high health benefits and a low risk of side effects.
Overall, 46% of Americans say the statement “public health officials were unprepared for the outbreak” describes their views extremely or very well, including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats.
Here’s what Americans said they learned about the development of vaccines and medical treatments and their advice for handling a future outbreak.
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Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they will get an updated COVID-19 vaccine.
Just 20% of the public views the coronavirus as a major threat to the health of the U.S. population and only 10% are very concerned about getting a serious case themselves. In addition, a relatively small share of U.S. adults (28%) say they’ve received an updated COVID-19 vaccine since last fall.
The share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive impact on society has fallen 16 percentage points since before the start of the coronavirus outbreak, from 73% in January 2019 to 57% today.
Online dating users who are Democrats are far more likely their Republican counterparts to say someone’s vaccination status is important for them to see.
We asked respondents to describe in their own words what rose and fell in importance to them during the pandemic. Here are some of the key themes that emerged.
Americans offer a lackluster evaluation of how the country has balanced priorities during the coronavirus outbreak. Fewer than half say the country has given the right amount of priority to the needs of K-12 students, public health or quality of life.
As has often been the case on policy questions about how to deal with the pandemic, partisans are far apart in their views on mask mandates.
Black Americans hold multifaceted views when it comes to trust in medical research scientists: Majorities hold largely positive views of their competence, but express concern about the potential for misconduct.
Most U.S. adults do not believe that requests for religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine are sincere.
A Pew Research Center analysis of official reports of COVID-19-related deaths across the country shows how the dynamics of the pandemic have shifted over the past two years.
© 2024 Pew Research Center
