KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor

About one in seven (16%) parents of children ages 6 months through 4 years old now say their child has gotten vaccinated for COVID-19, steady since September, but up from July. Few remaining parents of children in this age range (5%) say they plan to vaccinate their children “right away,” while 14% say they want to “wait and see” and another 20% of parents of young children will get them vaccinated “only if required” for school or other activities. Less than half (45%) of parents of children ages 6 months through 4 years old say they will “definitely not” get their child vaccinated for COVID-19. The share who say they will “definitely not” get their young child vaccinated for COVID-19 has increased from surveys taken earlier this year, when the vaccines were not yet available.

Reported vaccine uptake among children ages 5-11 has slowed slightly in recent months. Almost half of parents of kids ages 5-11 now report their child has gotten vaccinated (46%), continuing to tick up from earlier in the year. Just 2% of parents now say they will get their child vaccinated right away, and another 9% of parents of 5-11 year-olds still want to “wait and see.”

The share who say they will get their 5-11 year-old vaccinated “only if required” (8%) or will “definitely not” get them vaccinated (35%) has held steady over the past few months.

Parents’ intentions to vaccinate their older children have remained relatively steady since the start of the year. Almost six in ten parents of teenagers, ages 12-17, say their child has been vaccinated (62%), with very few parents who say they want to “wait and see” before deciding (2%). Around three in ten parents of 12-17 year-olds say they will definitely not get their child vaccinated (31%) while a further 5% say they will only do so if they are required.

About one in four parents of teenagers ages 12 to 17 say their child has already gotten the updated COVID-19 booster (16%) or that they will definitely be doing so (8%). A further 18% say their teen will probably get the update booster. Notably, about four in ten parents of teenagers say their 12-17 year old is not vaccinated for COVID-19 and therefore not eligible to get the updated bivalent booster.

Among parents of younger children between the ages of 5 and 11, six in ten (61%) say their child is unvaccinated and therefore not eligible for the new COVID-19 booter. About one in five parents say their 5 to 11 year old has either gotten the updated booster (14%) or will definitely be doing so (7%), while a further 9% say their child will probably get the updated booster.

A quarter of adults (23%) say they have received the bivalent booster, the most recent version of the COVID-19 vaccine that became available in September 2022. Slightly more than half of the public have either received an older booster dose but not the most recent version (25%) or received initial full course of vaccines but no booster doses (25%). One in four adults in the U.S. remain unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated. Adults ages 65 and older and Democrats are among the groups with the largest shares saying they have gotten the bivalent booster dose, with around four in ten who report getting their shot (42% of those ages 65 and older, and 41% of Democrats).

About half of adults say they’re likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine annually if one was offered in that time frame, like a flu shot, including one in three (32%) who say they’re “very likely” to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccinated adults, especially those who have received a booster dose, are among the largest shares to say they’d get a COVID-19 vaccine annually. Eight in ten adults who have received a booster dose of the vaccine say they would be likely to get an annual vaccine, including more than half who say they are “very likely.” Among the vaccinated adults who have not received the suggested boosters, willingness to get an annual vaccine lags, with less than half (42%) saying they would be likely to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, about one in ten of those who are only partially vaccinated or unvaccinated say they would be likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine annually.

Adults who are vaccinated but have not yet received the updated bivalent booster cite a range of reasons for why they have not yet done so. About half (51%) say they feel they have enough protection from their initial COVID-19 vaccine or a prior infection of the virus, and about four in ten (44%) say they don’t think they need the new booster. Reflecting that there is still some interest in getting an updated dose, about three in ten (29%) say they are "too busy” or “have not had time to get it.” Other less frequently cited reasons include the nearly one in five (19%) of adults who say they had bad side effects from a previous COVID-19 dose, or they cannot afford to take time off work to get the booster or deal with the side effects of the vaccine (15%). Similar shares say they have not gotten an updated bivalent booster because they think “COVID is over” (15%), while about one in ten (12%) say they are not sure how or where to get the booster.

The top reasons given by those eligible for the new booster who have not yet gotten it are similar across partisans, but the share who say each reason varies. Majorities of Republicans or Republican-leaning independents say they have not gotten the booster because they feel they have enough protection from a previous dose or infection (62%), or they don’t think they need it (56%). These are also the top reasons given by Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, but four in ten of this group (43%) say they feel they have enough protection and about one in three (34%) say they don’t think they need the new booster. Other reasons are more frequently mentioned by Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents than Republicans, including being too busy or not having time (37% vs. 17%), that they can’t afford to take time off work to get the booster or deal with side effects (19% vs. 10%), or they are not sure how or where to get the booster (15% vs. 6%). Notably, one-fourth (27%) of Republicans say they have not gotten a booster because they think “COVID is over.”

The January COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey finds many who have already received the new booster are now eagerly awaiting guidance from the CDC about when they can be eligible for another shot. More than half (54%) of adults who have received the bivalent booster say they are waiting on the CDC to issue new guidelines so they can be eligible for another booster. Overall, 15% of U.S. adults say they are waiting on the CDC to issue new guidelines.

When asked about getting another booster shot in the future, the vast majority of adults (86%) who have already gotten the bivalent booster say it’s important, including more than one-third (37%) who say it is a “top priority” and half (49%) who say it is “important but not a top priority.” A further one in ten (10%) say it is “not too important,” while 3% say it is something they don’t plan to do.