Rasmussen surveyed Americans to find out their views on COVID-19 safety. 71% of respondents reported receiving at least part of the vaccine series. It’s easy to see how political partisanship has affected COVID shot increase. While 88% of Democrats reported receiving the shots, 63% of Republicans and 64% of unaffiliated voters did not report the same.
However, nearly half of respondents believe that the side effects of COVID-19 vaccinations may have contributed to a large number of unaccounted-for deaths. The highest rate of agreement is reached by all men and women between the ages of 18 and 39. This is consistent with the cardiac side effects profile of men below 40 years and the excessive death rates reported to insurance actuaries by the working-age population.
Even though there are partisan differences in vaccine use, 51% of Democrats believe that the recent increase in unaccounted deaths could be attributed to the shots. The overall result is lower for unaffiliated Americans, who only 34% feel the same. The highest percentage of vaccine-related deaths among respondents with children at home is 58%. It is extremely likely for 34% of parents to say so. This could explain low booster uptake among children younger than 18 and poor initial series uptake in children aged five and under.
The results of the pollster’s question asking respondents if they thought they knew anyone who had died from side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination was amazing. Nearly one-third of adults answered yes. 35% of those aged 18 to 39 thought they might have known someone who died from the vaccine. Because of the high rates of vaccination, 33% reported that they had this suspicion while 26% of Republicans or unaffiliated voters did.
Overall, 48% believe there are valid reasons to be concerned regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations. 15% remain undecided. 83% believe that vaccine side effects could cause unexplained deaths, while 76% think they might have a family member who has died from this condition.
40% of vaccinated people believe that concerns are valid. 14% disagree. Half of the men and 52% of Americans aged 40-64 agreed. 51% of those surveyed with children agreed. Another sign of partisanship is that 46% of Democrats believe there is a conspiracy theory about vaccine side effects. They have the highest suspicion of knowing someone who has died from them, but only 28% of men and 52% of working-age Americans between the ages of 40 and 64 agree. Only 28% of Republicans agree with this view.
A Rasmussen poll found that 68% of those surveyed reported having received the COVID vaccine in a December survey. Respondents reported that 34% had experienced minor side effects and 7% suffered from major side effects. These results are consistent with the V-Safe system data collected by the CDC. 33% of the 10,000,000 participants in the survey via app reported that they were unable to do normal activities following vaccination. Nearly 8% of those surveyed reported that they needed medical attention and 13% missed work.
These polls combined with the CDC’s V-Safe data show that Americans’ experiences with the COVID-19 vaccination are not in line with public health messages. This could explain why participation in the omicron boosters is so low. The highest rate of Americans receiving them is among those over 65, who receive 37.5%. The initial series was completed by 73% of those over five years and 94% of those over 65. Only 1.7 Million children below five years old have been given any doses.
Public health officials continue to express concern about routine vaccination rates. These fell due to disruptions in well-child visits during the pandemic and have not rebounded as expected. Rasmussen shows parents and those under 40 are the most skeptical of COVID shots. These concerns could be raised with data and research, which could lead to more doubts about the entire childhood vaccine schedule in years to come.
