New survey finds 51% of Americans are saying 'no' to latest COVID-19 vaccine

Many Americans are sick and tired of COVID-19 and are not worried about getting sick, and so they are skipping the latest vaccine.

A survey of 1,400 Americans found 51% have no plans to get the new vaccine released in September because they are not worried about getting infected.

The survey was done the first week of November by the Kaiser Family Foundation as the holiday season arrives when people travel more, are in closer contact with others and exposure risk goes up.

The holidays historically see upticks in COVID-19 infections since the pandemic hit in spring 2020. President Joe Biden declared the pandemic over this past April.

A year ago heading into the 2022 holiday season, an Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index found half of Americans had already returned to pre-COVID routines.

The latest survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found 74% of respondents are “not too worried” or “not at all worried” about getting COVID-19 over the holidays.

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That’s way above the 26% who said they are “very” or “somewhat” worried about getting infected.

At least two thirds of respondents, or 68%, said they are not concerned about spreading the virus to people close to them.

The findings do not surprise some in the medical community who acknowledge people are fatigued, or over, COVID-19.

Dr. Rebecca Witherell, an infectious disease physician at NCH, a hospital system in Collier County, said a similar trend to the survey results is happening locally.

“There is some vaccine hesitancy in general as people become less worried about acquiring severe illness,” she said in an email. “This is a phenomenon that has been seen after previous outbreaks as well once people become fatigued with hearing about the infection and case numbers stabilize.”

What does the state Department of Health say?

The state Department of Health in Lee County said that while COVID-19 no longer poses a pandemic threat it “reminds residents to practice proper sanitary measures and monitor themselves for flu-like symptoms as they would for any other respiratory illness.”

The health department in Lee provided a link to treatment options and did not include a preventive measure of getting the latest COVID-19 vaccine.

State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, known for his staunch criticism of the vaccine, said in September that healthy adults under 65 should not get the latest booster, saying the new boosters lack a human clinical trial or evidence of benefits.

Ladapo’s position is backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis who is running for the Republican nomination for president.

Their stance is in contrast to a vaccine recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people aged six months old and up should get the latest booster.

How is COVID-19 right now?

COVID-19 case counts remain much lower in Florida than what the state experienced during the height of the pandemic and before vaccines were approved in late 2020. Vaccines became widely available in spring 2021.

Lower case counts, vaccine availability and the federal government declaring the pandemic over are likely reasons why people have moved on with their lives.

The availability of home testing kits from pharmacies also means positive results are not reported to the state.

State data on COVID-19 was moved this fall to its flhealthcharts.gov site for reportable diseases after the state settled a lawsuit requiring it provides more detail on COVID-19 incidence.

The suit was filed in 2021 by former Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, and the Florida Center for Government Accountability. The USA TODAY Network, which owns the Fort Myers News Press and the Naples Daily News, among other Florida newspapers, had joined the lawsuit.

State data shows 27,117 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Florida this past October.

The October count is roughly half the 45,461 cases reported to Florida authorities a year ago for the same month.

During the height of the pandemic, the state saw 78,648 cases in October 2021 and 98,796 cases that same month in 2020.

In terms of vaccination, state data shows 1.4 million Floridians have been vaccinated so far this year, down from 5.3 million in 2022 and 15 million in 2021.

For the month of October, just under 456,000 have gotten the shots and 327,000 got it in September, the data shows.

For the month of August before the new vaccine came out, 57,000 got the shots statewide.

Lee Health's director of epidemiology, Dr. Mary Beth Saunders, encourages people to reach out to their healthcare provider to find out what vaccinations they need. Lee Health is the public hospital system in Lee County.

"We encourage everyone to receive a COVID and annual influenza vaccine to protect yourself and others this holiday season," she said in an email.

What does the survey data say?

According to the Kaiser survey findings, one in five respondents, or 20%, said they already have gotten the latest vaccine. Another 28% said they “definitely” or “probably” will get the shot.

The remainder said they “definitely” or “probably” will not get the latest vaccine.

The group not getting the latest shot include 31% of all adults who previously were vaccinated, according to the findings.

Among adults who were vaccinated before but have not gotten the latest shot, 52% cited a lack of concern about getting the virus as a reason for not getting it.

Roughly 37% said they were too busy, 32% said they are waiting and 27% said they had bad side effects from a previous dose, according to the results.

About one in six individuals, or 16%, said they can’t afford to take time off from work to get it.

Among those 65 and older, the group most at risk of severe COVID-19 illness, 34% said they have already gotten the latest vaccine.

The results also show the public is split on precautions this fall and winter to avoid infection.

Roughly 35% said they will avoid large gatherings while 30% said they will wear masks in crowded places and 25% said they will avoid travel.

Another 19% said they will avoid indoor restaurants and 18% said they will take a COVID-19 test before getting together with friends and family.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 74% of Americans "not too worried" about getting COVID over holiday