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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #87: Parent Information Sources and Children COVID Vaccination
From the Document: "The path to FDA authorization for vaccines in young children has been complex. On February 1, 2022 Pfizer and BioNTech [hyperlink] responded to requests from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seek emergency authorization of their COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine for children ages 6 months through 4 years on a rolling basis. This authorization would have allowed children to begin receiving the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while data comparing two or three course vaccine regimens for children were still being collected. However, on February 11, 2022 [hyperlink] the FDA reversed course and announced it would wait for data on the effectiveness of the third dose before granting emergency authorization. Most recently, Moderna [hyperlink] announced it was seeking authorization for its vaccine for children under 6 and the FDA [hyperlink] has laid out a timeline for examining the authorization requests and data in June. [...] In light of this confusion, it is important to understand where parents are getting information about vaccinating their children against COVID-19. In this report we examine where parents are seeking information about their children's health and vaccination decision-making, as well as who they discuss these important decisions with. We gathered this information by asking parents to select which sources they use from a list, as well as from an open-ended response question. We find that there is quite a bit of overlap in sources between these two methods."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Pippert, Caroline; Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Safarpour, Alauna . . .
2022-05-17
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #85: Unvaccinated Older Americans
From the Document: "In this report, we examine how many older Americans are unvaccinated against COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], and who these unvaccinated individuals are. The risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 is far higher for older adults, making vaccination particularly critical in reducing the impact of the pandemic. [...] Who are the older Americans who are unvaccinated? This is one of the key questions in terms of the future trajectory of serious illnesses and deaths from COVID [coronavirus disease]. Vaccines were approved first for this age group, and public health efforts have stressed their importance in reducing risk in this group. Age is strongly related to vulnerability to COVID infections, where 75% of deaths [hyperlink] from COVID are individuals who were 65 and older, versus a population share of 16.5%. Vaccinations have shown great efficacy at reducing mortality from COVID infection for all ages, including older individuals, by 90+% [hyperlink]. Thus, vaccinating older Americans has been the single intervention with the most promise of reducing mortality. Here we ask, first, how many older Americans remain unvaccinated? And who are the older Americans who remain unvaccinated?"
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Lazer, David; Uslu, Ata A.; Guo, Zhen . . .
2022-04-22
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #86: Misperceptions About the War in Ukraine and COVID-19 Vaccines
From the Document: "For the past two years, the United States has endured what the World Health Organization has termed an infodemic [hyperlink] of misinformation involving COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] in general [hyperlink], and the COVID-19 vaccination [hyperlink] in particular. We reviewed the current breadth and depth of the COVID [coronavirus disease] misinformation problem in a recent report [#82] [hyperlink]. In that report (based on our January 2022 survey), we found that about one in six respondents (16%) believed at least one out of four false claims about COVID-19 vaccines, while a little over 1/3 (37%) were unsure about at least one false claim. As we discuss below, those percentages have remained stable in our latest survey. [...] In this report, we review the extent of Americans' acceptance of false claims about COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine. We investigate the demographic and partisan correlates of believing false claims about Ukraine and the COVID19 vaccine, as well as the confluence of these two overlapping misinformation crises. In particular, we explore whether and to what extent acceptance of COVID-19 misinformation is associated with accepting misinformation relating to the current conflict in Ukraine. Are people who are inclined to believe false claims about COVID-19 more likely to also believe false claims about the conflict in Ukraine?" The previous report can be found at [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=868069].
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Baum, Matthew A., 1965-; Ognyanova, Katherine; Lazer, David . . .
2022-04-22
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #84: COVID-19 Deaths and Depression
From the Document: "The number of deaths associated with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] in the United States is approaching the grim milestone of 1 million people [hyperlink], or around 1 in 330 people. In many communities, this number is far higher. The magnitude of these losses--and their impact on the survivors--can be difficult to comprehend. A recent White House memorandum [hyperlink] acknowledges this impact as a key consideration as the nation seeks to recover: 'Each soul is irreplaceable, and the families and communities left behind are still reeling from profound loss.' To better understand this impact, the COVID-19 States Project surveyed 22,234 adults from all 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia in March 2022. For 18,103, we asked whether they knew anyone who died of COVID-19, and whether they were family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or acquaintances. To understand the emotional impact of these losses, we also asked about symptoms of depression using a 9-item questionnaire (the Patient Health Questionnaire [hyperlink]) commonly used to identify major depression in primary care settings. In prior waves, we found that rates of depression in the U.S. were 3-4 times greater than the roughly 8% in adults [hyperlink] seen prior to COVID-19."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Perlis, Roy H.; Green, Jon; Guo, Zhen . . .
2022-04-21
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #83: Executive Approval
From the Document: "The Covid [coronavirus disease] States Project has been tracking trends in executive approval of management of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] outbreak throughout the pandemic. We find: [1] Generally, there has been a downward trend for approval of all governors since the beginning of the pandemic. [2] Republican respondents in particular have trended downwards in their approval of governors. Republican approval of Democratic governors has dropped from a high of 57% in April 2020, to 19% in April, 2022. Approval of Republicans for Republican governors has fallen almost as quickly, from a high of 77% in April 2020, to 44% currently. [3] In the early stages of the pandemic, President Trump had notably low approval for his handling of the pandemic, far below the average approval levels of governors. President Biden has generally had approval levels above those of President Trump, peaking in the spring of 2021, and declining steadily since. This decline has been somewhat faster than the decline in approval of governors, reaching a nadir in April 2022 one point below that of the average governor at 38%."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Quintana, Alexi; Lazer, David; Baum, Matthew A., 1965- . . .
2022-04-12
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #82: COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Trends
From the Document: "Misinformation remains an important public health concern [hyperlink], especially as it is widely seen as a factor affecting people's behavior during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. In past reports, we have discussed the prevalence and demographics [hyperlink] of COVID-19 misinformation, its link to vaccination rates [hyperlink], and its dependence on social media news consumption [hyperlink]. Here, we examine the over-time shifts in COVID-19 vaccine misperceptions across different social groups. We explore whether those who believe misinformation are aware that their views contradict the prevailing opinion of scientists and medical experts. We highlight the connection between COVID-19 misinformation and trust in the government, media, science and medicine. Finally, we update our findings linking misperceptions with attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Ognyanova, Katherine; Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Lazer, David . . .
2022-02-14
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #81: Child Vaccination Rate
From the Document: "It has been approximately 9 months since the FDA authorized youth ages 12 to 17 [hyperlink] to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine, and 3 months since authorization for kids ages 5 to 11 [hyperlink]. After each authorization, vaccination rates initially surged among those age groups. Now that more time has elapsed - along with the spike in cases due to the Omicron variant - how have vaccination rates fared among minors, and how have parents' likelihood of vaccinating their kids changed? Understanding these trends may also allow predictions about vaccination uptake among younger children, now that Pfizer has asked the FDA to approve the COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 [hyperlink]. [...] For youth ages 12-18, the COVID-19 vaccination rate has barely moved upward over the last four months (Figure 1). In September 2021, 54% of parents said their child in this age group had gotten at least one vaccine, compared to 55% in November 2021 and 57% in January 2022. Greater increases occurred for kids ages 5-11 in the past two months: 27% of parents reported their child in this age group getting at least one vaccine, versus 36% in January 2022. Overall, the vaccination rate among kids ages 5-11 remains lower than the rate among youth ages 12-18--not surprising, given that kids ages 5-11 could only start getting vaccinated in early November 2021--but the gap between these age groups is closing. In both groups, a substantial number of individuals remain unvaccinated against COVID-19."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Druckman, James N., 1971-; Qu, Hong . . .
2022-02-04
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #80: Americans' Views on Violence Against the Government
From the Document: "Recent years have seen armed protests, threats, and violence against government officials following mask mandates, COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] related closures [hyperlink], and the 2020 election [hyperlink] (including, most notably, the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the US capitol). These events have sparked concern about the state of American democracy and the safety of government officials. In this report, we examine Americans' attitudes toward the acceptability of violent protest against the government."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Safarpour, Alauna; Santillana, Mauricio; Druckman, James N., 1971- . . .
2022-01-28
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #79: At-Home COVID Tests
From the Document: "The availability of home antigen testing alongside continued challenges in pursuing PCR [polymerase chain reaction] and antigen tests outside of the home means it is likely that some positive cases are not represented in official counts of cases or positivity rates. Community survey methods could prove helpful in evaluating the extent to which such cases may be missing from official COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] tracking statistics. In this brief report, we assess the extent to which positive results on home antigen tests are not reflected in the number of official cases in the United States. In our current survey, we asked individuals if they had tested positive, and then whether they had ever tested positive using an 'at-home' test. [...] In our most recent wave, out of 10,759 respondents: [1] 63% reported ever having been tested for COVID-19. [2] 18% reported ever having tested positive using any type of test. [3] 4% reported testing positive using an at-home test. [5] 31% of individuals who had a positive test at home did not follow up with a test at their doctor's office or a testing facility, and thus are likely not captured in official data. [6] We estimate that cases have been undercounted by about 6% on average among adults, and likely more so for demographics that use at-home tests more heavily (younger individuals, those with higher income and education, Democrats)."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Lazer, David; Uslu, Ata A.; Ognyanova, Katherine . . .
2022-01-20
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #78: American Mask Use and CDC Guidance
From the Document: "Late Friday [hyperlink], the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] updated its guidance regarding mask types for Americans, saying that people now 'can choose' to wear higher quality respirators such as N95 or KN95 masks, if they wish. The updated guidance comes on the heels of President Biden's announcement on Thursday [hyperlink] that the nation has more than tripled its stockpile of N95s to help ensure the masks are available to the general population. In this report, we examine Americans' current attitudes towards mask use including whether and what type of masks Americans currently use, beliefs regarding CDC mask recommendations (attitudes collected before the CDC's updated guidance issued January 14, 2022), beliefs about which types of masks offer the greatest protection, and how mask use has changed over the course of the pandemic. These data shed light on the current masking behavior of Americans and point to current popular understanding (or misunderstanding) of CDC recommendations."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Safarpour, Alauna; Druckman, James N., 1971-; Quintana, Alexi . . .
2022-01-15
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #77: Healthcare Workers' Perception of COVID-19 Misinformation
From the Document: "How significant a problem is misinformation for the delivery of healthcare services? Misinformation, and any resulting misperceptions, certainly have the potential to negatively impact people's attitudes and behaviors surrounding the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. Whether or not someone internalizes misinformation depends on multiple factors, but one key consideration is their level of trust in established experts providing cues on COVID-19 behavior. For instance, people who do not trust sources such as the CDC will be less likely to follow its recommendations on COVID-19 prevention behaviors, and may instead opt to seek out information - which often turns out to be 'mis'information - on their own. Understanding the sources and effects of information and misinformation is therefore important. National polls and published academic studies uniformly find that healthcare workers are one of the most trusted sources of information relating to health, including information about COVID-19. People often talk to healthcare providers about COVID-19 concerns, including the decision to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Healthcare workers, in a sense, have been eyewitnesses to the life and death health decisions that people have been making throughout the course of the pandemic. For these reasons, healthcare workers can provide us with valuable insights into people's decision-making and information sources. In order to extract 'testimony' from healthcare workers, in November 2021 the COVID States Project surveyed 545 healthcare workers about their perceptions regarding how misinformation influences patient decisions related to healthcare and COVID-19 vaccines. We also asked healthcare workers about what they perceive to be sources of patient misinformation."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Quintana, Alexi; Baum, Matthew A., 1965- . . .
2022-01-13
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #76: Storming of the Capitol, One Year Later
From the Document: "The COVID [coronavirus disease] states project conducted a survey and issued a report [hyperlink] in the immediate aftermath of the storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Here, we revisit some of the opinions regarding January 6th, a year later. [...] Public support for the storming of the Capitol building remains quite low. Overall, only 5% of respondents indicate that they support the storming of the Capitol on January 6th, as compared to 76% who oppose. However, there are significant variations among partisan groups in the 'neither support nor oppose' category, with 28% of Republicans, 23% of Independents, and only 8% of Democrats reporting neither supporting nor opposing the storming of the Capitol. Further, these partisan splits have increased since January, 2021: whereas the opposition to the storming of the Capitol has remained steady with Democrats at 89%, it has dropped by 11 percentage points among Republicans, and 8 points among Independents. [...] The events of January 6th still evoke strong, negative emotional reactions by Americans, but especially among Democrats. The top emotions evoked by the storming of the Capitol building are sadness (52%), anger (52%), and shame (49%), with almost twice as many Democrats citing those emotions as Republicans." The aforementioned report can also be found here in the HSDL: [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=850482].
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Ognyanova, Katherine; Green, Jon; Lazer, David . . .
2022-01-06
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #74: Parental Concerns Over COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids
From the Document: "In the U.S., children ages 5 and older are now eligible for COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccination, after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received emergency authorization from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in early November 2021. The vaccine had previously been authorized for youth ages 12-17 in Spring 2021. As of December 16, the CDC reported that more than 7 million vaccine doses had been administered to children ages 5-11, and adverse events [hyperlink] of concern -those that were resolved with a mild clinical course- had only been identified in less than a dozen kids. How are parents feeling about childhood COVID-19 vaccination in the face of new authorizations and relatively few adverse events of concern? [...] [U]sing survey data from November 2021, we provide an update on the prevalence of these five parental concerns regarding child COVID-19 vaccination, building on the descriptive report about parental intentions [hyperlink] from November 2021 survey data. We also examine tendencies and shifts over time for subpopulations of parents, such as by political partisanship, race/ethnicity, gender and age, population density, education level, and likelihood of vaccinating their kids against COVID-19." Previous reports can be found at [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=858566], [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=868045], and [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=868079].
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Perlis, Roy H.; Santillana, Mauricio . . .
2021-12-22
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #75: Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Boosters
From the Document: "Recognizing that the protection conferred by COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccines may wane over time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has encouraged adults in the United States to receive booster shots that can augment their immunity to the virus. While the Biden administration sought to encourage all adults to receive boosters, the CDC initially authorized the shots only for higher-risk individuals. Subsequently, authorization was broadened to all adults, although only higher-risk individuals were encouraged to pursue boosters. Most recently, after substantial criticism, the CDC changed its language to encourage all adults to receive boosters. [...] Between November 3rd and December 3rd, 2021, the COVID [coronavirus disease] States Project [hyperlink] asked 22,277 adults in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia about their attitudes and behaviors regarding COVID-19. In particular, we asked about whether people are vaccinated or intend to be vaccinated, and whether they had sought booster shots or intend to seek a booster shot. In this brief report, we examine attitudes toward COVID-19 booster shots, and whether they differ across particular groups of people. Since the survey was ongoing when news about Omicron emerged in the US, we also take an initial look at whether these attitudes have begun to shift along with perceptions of the threat posed by COVID-19 subsequent to the November 26th announcement."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Perlis, Roy H.; Baum, Matthew A., 1965-; Trujillo, Kristin Lunz . . .
2021-12-22
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #73: American Attitudes Toward Critical Race Theory
From the Document: "In a few short years, the scholarly approach known as Critical Race Theory (CRT) went from a relatively obscure academic framework to the new front in the American culture wars. CRT has made its way to the front pages of newspapers, cable news show's primetime specials, Presidential executive orders, and a slate of laws and regulations dictating how history can be taught in public schools. Critical Race Theory is an academic movement of scholars who investigate and seek to change the existing power dynamic between race and racism in society. [...] To evaluate the public's attitudes toward Critical Race Theory (CRT), our latest survey (conducted between November 3rd and December 2nd, 2021) asked a series of questions about attitudes towards CRT including concern with how history is currently taught in public schools, familiarity with CRT, support for teaching CRT versus support for teaching the legacy of racism, and how well the public thinks CRT describes American society. In this report, we describe these attitudes to better understand what the public thinks about CRT and whether the legacy of racism should be taught in schools."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Safarpour, Alauna; Lazer, David; Lin, Jennifer . . .
2021-12-21
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #72: School Board Elections
From the Document: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic and the backlash against Critical Race Theory have led to increased attention to school board elections. To better understand who votes in these elections and who attends school board meetings, this report examines the demographic characteristics of individuals who say they attended a school board meeting in the past 6 months and those who say they voted for school board at some point in the past year. [...] In the run up to the November 2021 elections, rancorous school board meetings garnered national attention and prompted U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland [hyperlink] to marshal the resources of federal authorities to address the growing threats directed at school board members nationwide. Federal involvement in the issue was sparked by a request [hyperlink] for help from the National School Board Association sent to the Biden administration in late September 2021. Given these recent events, in this report we examine participation in school board elections and school board meetings - providing survey estimates of who participates in school board elections and meetings, and what issues motivate these individuals."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Safarpour, Alauna; Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Uslu, Ata A. . . .
2021-12-17
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #71: Childhood COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Intentions
From the Document: "In early November 2021, children ages 5-11 were authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine, making an additional 28 million children [hyperlink] eligible for the shot. Given this significant advancement in COVID-19 vaccine availability - particularly in light of recent concerns over the Omicron variant - in this report we examine parent-reported COVID-19 vaccination intentions and uptake for children. Below, we examine reported childhood vaccination rates by childhood age and across different parent demographic subgroups. Additionally, we report parents' expressed likelihood of vaccinating their children against COVID-19 across five survey waves from February, April, June, September, and November 2021."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Lazer, David; Simonson, Matthew . . .
2021-12-13
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #70: MA Governor Charlie Baker's Approval
From the Document: "Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker's announcement [hyperlink] last week that he would not seek re-election comes on the heels of a wave of retirements [hyperlink] of moderate Republican politicians who have found themselves at odds with former President Donald Trump and his vision of the Republican Party. Governor Baker's decision to not seek re-election is somewhat surprising, given the Republican has consistently garnered some of the highest gubernatorial approval ratings according to numerous polls [hyperlink] (including our own [hyperlink]). However Baker has struggled to garner support from members of his own party, with numerous polls [hyperlink] finding higher approval among Democrats and Independents than among Republicans. Baker's struggles with his own party were on full display when President Trump endorsed [hyperlink] Baker's primary challenger, Geoff Diehl, in October. Baker faced grim primary prospects according to a Public Policy Polling poll [hyperlink] that found Baker trailing Diehl in a hypothetical matchup between the two candidates. Baker has already served two terms as leader of the Bay state, and a third consecutive term would have been unprecedented [hyperlink] for a Massachusetts governor. The Covid States Project regularly asks people in all 50 states about their approval of their governor's handling of the pandemic and, in our most recent survey, about approval of their governor's overall job performance. In this report, we focus on the approval of Governor Charlie Baker's handling of the coronavirus pandemic since April 2020, and Baker's most recent general approval rating."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Safarpour, Alauna; Perlis, Roy H.; Lazer, David . . .
2021-12-11
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #69: Student Attitudes About University COVID-19 Policies
From the Introduction: "With the return of students to U.S. colleges and universities this September, more than 1,000 institutions [hyperlink] of higher education have implemented COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine mandates to keep COVID-19 cases low. The majority of students have complied [hyperlink] with these mandates, and according to our recent survey data, nearly three-fourths of university students report having received at least one COVID-19 vaccine (Figure 1). Also according to our data, university students in the U.S. are getting vaccinated at around the same rate as the full survey sample. University students therefore may have slightly higher vaccination rates than others in their age group; according to our survey data, 67% of Americans aged 18- 24 have received at least one vaccine."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Druckman, James N., 1971-; Shere, Anjuli . . .
2021-11-15
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #68: Heightened Parental Concerns About COVID-19 Vaccinations for Children
From the Document: "In early October 2021, Pfizer and BioNTech asked [hyperlink] the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize their COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11. The success of vaccinating children is, however, still contingent upon whether parents feel their children should get the COVID-19 vaccine. Before the pandemic, vaccine hesitancy among parents was prevalent in certain pockets of the US. Parental vaccine hesitancy [hyperlink] led to decreased inoculation rates among children for immunizations such as the MMR [measles, mumps, and rubella] vaccine. This subsequently led to outbreaks [hyperlink] of previously-eradicated diseases - like the measles - among children in states [hyperlink] such as Washington and New York in 2018, and Minnesota in 2017. With the COVID-19 vaccine, parental vaccine hesitancy could similarly lead to higher levels of COVID-19 cases among minors, while also transmitting the disease to other populations. Investigating parental vaccine concerns is important in understanding and addressing parental vaccine hesitancy surrounding COVID-19. For this reason, in June 2021 [hyperlink] we asked parents across the country about various concerns regarding childhood COVID-19 vaccination. We isolated their top five concerns: how new the vaccine is, whether the vaccine has been tested enough, whether the vaccine actually works, immediate side effects of the vaccine, and long-term side effects of the vaccine. We asked parents about these concerns again in September 2021 to detect shifts over time. Across the board, we find that the proportion of parents who felt these five items were major concerns increased substantially."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Trujillo, Kristin Lunz; Santillana, Mauricio; Pippert, Caroline . . .
2021-10-18
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #67: Who Are the Masked Unvaccinated and the Unmasked Vaccinated?
From the Introduction: "In mid-August 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) issued a recommendation for both vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans to begin wearing masks [hyperlink] in public again, particularly in places experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], driven by the Delta variant. Further compounding this concern is the lower propensity of unvaccinated individuals to wear masks. For example, a report [hyperlink] from July 2021 found that unvaccinated Americans, on average, tended to wear masks less than vaccinated Americans by a margin of 25 percentage points. Given the link between mask-wearing and vaccination, discussions of behaviors relating to COVID-19 often lump people into two categories: those who behave in ways that prevent the spread of COVID-19 and those who do not. However, doing so misses the complexity of who engages or doesn't engage in behaviors that stem the spread of COVID-19, or why they do so. Vaccination and mask-wearing are two different means to the same end: preventing infection. They are, in part, driven by the same factor, concern over infection. But they are also partial substitutes, aimed at the same target, preventing infection. In our data, we find that 30% of the population is either vaccinated 'and' unmasked; or unvaccinated 'and' masked. Indeed, 'most' unvaccinated individuals report wearing masks. Understanding this complexity is significant in getting people vaccinated, and in getting people to wear masks - particularly those who are unvaccinated."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Shere, Anjuli; Uslu, Ata A.; Trujillo, Kristin Lunz . . .
2021-10-15
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #66: Update on Executive Approval
From the Document: "The COVID [coronavirus disease] States Project survey regularly asks people in all 50 states about their approval of their governors and the President. Since our last report on executive approval, which examined trends through March 2021, the pandemic has notably evolved, with huge surges of cases and deaths associated with the Delta variant throughout the summer and early fall. Most states reacted to the dip in coronavirus infections and increase in vaccinations in late spring and early summer by lifting indoor mask mandates, only to struggle to adapt as cases surged again in the late summer and early fall 2021. Some of these states were responding to CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance [hyperlink], which announced in May that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks indoors or outdoors, only to reverse that guidance a few months later and recommend masks indoors for Americans living in areas of high transmission regardless of vaccination status. Other states rebuffed the guidance of public health agencies by, for instance, banning mask mandates in schools, businesses, and other public places. These policy decisions received wide criticism1 particularly as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths surged in those states with the loosest pandemic restrictions. [...] In this report, we examine the approval of governors and the President for their handling of the pandemic -- and for the president's overall approval -- over time across the U.S. to assess how the public reacted to the policy decisions and developments surrounding the pandemic as well as state and federal governmental responses."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Safarpour, Alauna; Quintana, Alexi; Baum, Matthew A., 1965- . . .
2021-10-08
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #64: Continued High Public Support for Mandating Vaccines
From the Document: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] continues to surge in the United States and elsewhere, propelled by the highly contagious Delta variant. As of this writing (on September 29, 2021), about three quarters (76% [hyperlink]) of the eligible U.S. population (age 12 and up) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This is likely not enough to achieve herd immunity in the United States. Though the specific number remains uncertain, a recent estimate [hyperlink] by the Infectious Diseases Society of America suggests that over 80% of the 'entire' population must be 'fully' vaccinated to reach herd immunity. More worrisome, around 1 in 5 Americans, depending on the poll, continue to say they are either uncertain or will not get the vaccine. In our most recent survey wave (fielded from August 26 to September 27, 2021), 10% of respondents who indicated that they are not yet vaccinated claimed they are extremely unlikely to get it. Another 12% are 'somewhat' unlikely to seek the vaccine. In recent weeks, the Biden administration has shifted tactics in its efforts to get as many Americans as possible vaccinated. The Administration had from the outset emphasized the benefits of getting vaccinated as its primary strategy for persuading reluctant Americans to do so. [...] In this report, we update our assessment of public support for vaccine mandates, both nationally and across the 50 states, based on our September survey wave." The previous July 2021 report can be found at [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=858570].
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Baum, Matthew A., 1965-; Uslu, Ata A.; Shere, Anjuli . . .
2021-10-06
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey, Report #65: COVID-19 Vaccine Attitudes Among Healthcare Workers
From the Document: "This report is an update to our February [hyperlink], March [hyperlink], and August [hyperlink] reports on attitudes and vaccination rates of healthcare workers, including vaccine resistance, vaccine hesitancy. [...] The vaccination rates of healthcare workers are of particular importance because they are more likely to be conduits of exposure [hyperlink] for vulnerable individuals. Here we revisit our earlier report [hyperlink] on the vaccination rates of healthcare workers between June and September. From June 2021 to September 2021, vaccination rates and attitudes among healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers change only slightly, where vaccination rates increase only modestly." Previous reports can be found at [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=850470], [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=868016], and [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=858568].
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Lazer, David; Qu, Hong; Quintana, Alexi . . .
2021-10-06
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #63: The Decision to Not Get Vaccinated, from the Perspective of the Unvaccinated
From the Document: "This report examines the decision to not get vaccinated (yet) from the perspective of the unvaccinated. That is, obviously, no one is avoiding vaccination because they do not value their health or the health of others. So: what are the primary reasons for the choice to not get vaccinated (yet), 'from the perspective of those not getting vaccinated?' In order to get at this critical issue, for the two waves of our survey conducted April through July, we included closed and open ended survey questions. We focus on 6 categories of answers that people might provide: [1] 'Life constraints' - For example, unable to get to a location to get vaccinated; employment circumstances do not permit taking time off to get the shot(s), or to accommodate side effects. [2] 'Perception of benefit' - Perception that COVID [coronavirus disease] does not pose a major risk to them. [3] 'Perception of risk' - Affirmative beliefs that the vaccine poses a health risk. [4] 'Uncertainty regarding the risks the vaccine poses' - In particular, because of the newness of the vaccines, faster-than-usual development times, and/or lack of testing. [5] 'Lack of trust in institutions' - That the various institutions attesting to the safety of the vaccines are not to be trusted. [6] 'Fear of needles' - That the respondent's fear of needles is deterring them from getting vaccinated. We discuss below the responses from the open-ended questions, and then turn to the closed-ended. The two types of data offer complementary advantages."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Uslu, Ata A.; Ognyanova, Katherine; Lazer, David . . .
2021-09-14
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #62: COVID-19 Vaccine Attitudes Among Healthcare Workers
From the Document: "The vaccination status of healthcare workers is of particular importance, for two key reasons: First, healthcare workers have been a harbinger of trends among the broader population through the entire vaccination campaign, as they were among the first to gain access to vaccines. The early inequalities in terms of access among healthcare workers were predictive of inequalities within the broader population. The divides in terms of vaccine skepticism presaged those of the broader population; and, as we will see below, the plateauing of vaccination rates anticipated the slowdown in vaccinations within the broader population. Second, the vaccine decisions of healthcare workers have particular ramifications with respect to the spread of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019], and, especially, with respect to morbidity and mortality resulting from COVID-19. In particular, unvaccinated healthcare workers are potentially a vector of infection of the elderly and the vulnerable, who have been vastly more likely to die of the disease"
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Lazer, David; Qu, Hong; Ognyanova, Katherine . . .
2021-08-16
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #61: Parental Concerns About COVID-19 Vaccines
From the Document: "In an online forum designed to quell parents' anxieties about the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccine for their kids, one parent wrote: 'I'm not an anti-vaxxer or an anti-masker. I'm just worried.' On May 12, 2021, the New York Times [hyperlink] published an article titled 'They're Not Anti-Vaccine, but These Parents Are Hesitant About the COVID Shot' which takes the reader through a series of online conversations between doctors and parents anxious about vaccinating their kids against COVID-19. Parents reported being nervous about the newness of the vaccine and how fast it was developed, as well as the potential for side effects and allergic reactions. Additionally, parents of adolescents raised concerns about the vaccine affecting puberty and future fertility. Since the publication of the Times article, the FDA has granted emergency authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12-15 and so far, 39.5% have received one dose and 29% are fully vaccinated [hyperlink] as of August 2, 2021."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Pippert, Caroline; Lin, Jennifer; Lazer, David . . .
2021-08-11
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #60: Vaccine Misinformation, from Uncertainty to Resistance
From the Document: "In mid-July 2021, President Biden emphatically claimed that social media platforms were 'killing people' [hyperlink] by facilitating the spread of vaccine misinformation. Not long after, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell similarly declared that misinformation was to be blamed [hyperlink] for the low vaccination rates of Americans. The public debate that followed brought to the forefront a series of important questions. How prevalent is the public's belief in vaccine misinformation? Is that belief associated with vaccine resistance? Are some social groups more susceptible to it than others? Are social media companies responsible for the higher levels of vaccine resistance among some of their users? This report focuses on the first three questions, exploring misinformation beliefs across social groups and their connection with vaccine attitudes. We address the last question in our previous report [hyperlink] and in a post [hyperlink] published by the Washington Post's Monkey Cage blog."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Ognyanova, Katherine; Lazer, David; Baum, Matthew A., 1965- . . .
2021-08-09
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #59: What Americans Think About People Who Are Not Vaccinated
From the Document: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] continues to spread in the United States, driven by the Delta variant and fueled by the large number of unvaccinated individuals in the country. As a result, the role of unvaccinated Americans has received increasing attention from political and media elites. CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] director Rochelle Walensky, for instance, called the current situation [hyperlink] 'a pandemic of the unvaccinated'. President Biden noted that [hyperlink] 'We have a pandemic for those who haven't gotten a vaccination. It's that basic, that simple.'' This rhetoric, in turn, has at times shifted into blaming the unvaccinated for the continued spread of the disease. [...] In this report, we evaluate how people feel about those who are vaccinated and those who are not. [...] Overall, our findings suggest that people's own vaccination status predicts how they are likely to feel about others."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Lin, Jennifer; Lazer, David; Baum, Matthew A., 1965- . . .
2021-08-04
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COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey Report #58: High Public Support for Mandating Vaccines
From the Document: "In this report, we update our assessment of public support for vaccine mandates, both nationally and across the 50 states, based on our June/July survey wave. A few key takeaways follow: [1] Overall, public support for federal, state, and local governments requiring that everyone be vaccinated remains very strong, ranging from 61% to 70%, depending on the specific type of mandate. [2] Public support for such mandates has increased since April/May, both overall and in specific circumstances, like for getting on an airplane and returning to school or a university. [3] These over-time increases in support emerge across nearly all partisan and demographic subgroups we investigated. [4] Majorities of respondents in nearly all (45+) or all states and the District of Columbia approve of all four types of vaccine mandates we consider."
Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.); Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Harvard Medical School . . .
Baum, Matthew A., 1965-; Ognyanova, Katherine; Lazer, David . . .
2021-07-30
