How many vaccinated Americans would want a COVID booster shot? Here’s what poll found

A majority of vaccinated Americans said in a recent poll they would get a COVID-19 booster shot.

An Ipsos/Axios survey conducted Aug. 27-30 with a sample of 1,071 adults found that 58% of Americans who have already been vaccinated against the coronavirus said they’d get a booster shot if and when it’s available.

Sixty-percent said they’d get a shot if a new variant spreads, 61% said they’d get it if recommended by health officials, 68% said they would if the booster is recommended annually like a flu shot and 70% said they would if their primary health provider or doctor recommends it.

In August, White House officials announced that beginning the week of Sept. 20, adults already vaccinated with the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines will be able to receive a third booster shot at least eight months after receipt of their second dose.

Certain immunocompromised adults — including cancer patients, those who received an organ transplant, or people with advanced or untreated HIV — are also eligible for a booster shot if they received one of the two-dose vaccines.

Those who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are not yet advised to receive a booster shot, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention citing an insufficient amount of data.

Infections have continued to spike across the country, fueled by vaccine hesitancy and the delta variant, which is the dominant strain in the U.S. COVID-19 cases across the U.S. have risen 14% in the past two weeks, according to The New York Times, and hospitalizations have increased 16% over that same period as of Sept. 3. Deaths have spiked 67% in the past two weeks.

More than 205 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or 62% of the population, as of Sept. 3, according to the CDC. At least 174 million people — or 52% of the total population— are fully vaccinated.

The poll also found that 60% of Americans said returning to their pre-COVID-19 life “would be a large or moderate risk,” the highest percentage since March. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they were “at least somewhat concerned” about the pandemic and 80% are worried about the delta variant spreading.

Meanwhile, 20% of respondents said they wouldn’t get a coronavirus vaccine at all, the lowest percentage since Ipsos/Axios began tracking. “Hard opposition” — defined as “those not at all likely” to get the vaccine — dropped to 14% and 68% of parents said they’d likely get their kids a shot.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they’re going out to visit friends and eating at restaurants. Fifty percent of Americans said they’re social distancing and 69% said they’re “using a mask some or all the time.”

The CDC urges unvaccinated Americans to wear a face mask in indoor, public settings and crowded outdoor settings; vaccinated Americans are advised to wear a mask in indoor, public settings in areas with “substantial and high transmission” of the coronavirus.

In the poll, 70% of Americans expressed support for mask mandates in schools with 66% in favor of mask mandates for public places. Meanwhile, 57% of working Americans back vaccine requirements in their workplace, with 19% saying their employer already requires vaccination and 54% saying masks are required in the workplace.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 9:21 AM with the headline "How many vaccinated Americans would want a COVID booster shot? Here’s what poll found."