Majority of unvaccinated incorrectly believe vaccine poses bigger risk than COVID-19: poll

A slight majority of unvaccinated adults in the U.S. said they believe the vaccine poses a bigger risk to their health than COVID-19, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation that comes amid an ongoing battle against coronavirus misinformation.

The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor released Wednesday found that 53 percent of unvaccinated respondents think getting the vaccine is a bigger risk to their health than the virus itself. Seventy-five percent of people who said they would “definitely not” get the shot think the COVID-19 vaccine is a bigger risk.

By contrast, 88 percent of vaccinated respondents said the virus poses a greater threat.

What this means: The poll results underscore the stark differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated people’s viewpoints on COVID-19 and the vaccine.

Vaccinated respondents were much more likely to be concerned about variants disrupting the U.S. recovery, with 74 percent saying they’re worried about the country, compared to 39 percent of the unvaccinated who said the same.

Glimmer of hope: About a quarter of unvaccinated adults, amounting to 8 percent of all adults, said they expected to get vaccinated by the end of the year. That amounts to almost half of people who say they want to “wait and see” before getting the shot.

So far, 67 percent of adults have reported getting the vaccine