Changes to COVID shot guidance didn't sway public: survey
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The Trump administration's dialed-back guidance on COVID-19 vaccines hasn't significantly changed Americans' willingness to get the shots heading into respiratory virus season, a Pew Research Center survey found.
The big picture: Most of the public either hasn't heard about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new recommendations emphasizing personal choice or says it won't affect their decisions.
- Almost 6 in 10 say they don't want an updated COVID-19 shot — roughly the same share as a year ago. But there remains a big partisan divide on the merits of vaccination.
By the numbers: Pew found 44% of U.S. adults haven't heard about the CDC's September decision to scrap guidelines that virtually everyone should get a COVID-19 vaccine, recommending instead that they consult with a health care provider to determine whether the vaccine is right for them.
- Another 41% have heard a little about the decision, and only 15% have heard a lot.
- Americans over age 50 and Democrats were likelier than other groups to have heard about the changes.
- 63% of those who have heard about the changes said the new guidance had no influence on their decision whether to get an updated vaccine, while 24% said the changes had a minor influence and 12% said they've had a major influence.
About half of younger Americans under 30 who are familiar with the new policies said the changes had at least a minor influence, compared with 36% of those 65 and older.
Between the lines: Just over a quarter of Americans said they want an updated vaccine. Another 13% said they already got one as of late October 2025.
- But vaccine hesitancy continues to break sharply along partisan lines, with 83% of Republicans and those leaning Republican saying they don't want an updated shot, compared with 44% of of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
Context: The policy change under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signaled an official lack of confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. But it had the effect of keeping the vaccines covered by health insurers.
- Since then, several groups of states have formed alliances to make their own recommendations, in response to changes Kennedy has made to national vaccine policy.
