This week, President Joe Biden emerged from the White House for the first time after recovering from COVID-19. Biden is vaccinated and boosted against COVID. He has previously urged Americans to get a booster shot against the virus. Last month, reports broke that the Biden administration may offer a second booster shot to all adults this fall. A new poll asked Americans 50 and older if they would get an updated booster this fall if it became available.
A new national survey from the University of Michigan found that the majority of adults over age 50 who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are likely to get another booster shot this fall.
In the findings, 61 percent of people over 50 have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine and are “very likely” to get another booster when it becomes available this fall. This includes 55 percent of those ages 50 to 64 and 68 percent of those over age 65.
By comparison, 17 percent of adults over age 50 who have gotten vaccinated say they are “not likely” to get a booster this fall. Twenty-one percent said they are “somewhat likely.”
University of Michigan’s write-up detailed that attitudes towards getting a fall booster depends on current vaccination status.
Fall booster attitudes also vary depending on current vaccination status. While 24% of vaccinated-but-not-boosted older adults say they’re very likely to get a fall booster, the percentage was 56% among those who have gotten one booster and 88% of those who have gotten two boosters. Second boosters have been available to people over 50 since late March.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 82 percent of Americans aged 50 to 64 years old received the primary dose regimen as the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as 91 percent of those age 65 and older.
“The vaccines we’ve had since late 2020 have saved countless lives and made COVID-19 much less serious for millions worldwide. We also know that those who got at least one booster dose have done better than others in the Omicron variant era,” Preeti Malani, M.D., the poll director said. “But if we’re going to drive down deaths, hospitalizations, serious illness and long-term effects even further, we will need to get as many people vaccinated with these new formulations as possible.”
The poll included 1,024 adults aged 50 and older and was conducted in July 2022.