Most Older Americans Say They Will Get Updated COVID-19 Booster in Fall

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Most older U.S. adults are prepared to roll up their sleeves to get an updated COVID-19 booster shot once one becomes available, a new poll shows. The poll, conducted in late July online and by phone, included a nationally representative sample of 1,024 adults older than 50 years.

About three in five people older than 50 years (61 percent) who have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine say they would get an updated booster that offers protection against the new variants that have emerged, the University of Michigan poll revealed. And even more might get the booster if their doctors specifically recommend it, the National Poll on Healthy Aging suggests.

Groups especially hard hit by COVID-19 -- people older than 65 years, Black adults older than 50 years, people with low incomes -- in particular are interested in the booster. About 68 percent of people in each of those groups said they are likely to get a booster.

How people felt about getting a booster depended a lot on their current vaccination status. Only 24 percent of people who have been vaccinated but not boosted said they are very likely to get a fall booster compared with 56 percent of those who have gotten one booster and 88 percent of those who have had two. The poll shows that only 19 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds and 44 percent of people older than 64 years have gotten the full course of vaccination with two booster doses. On the other hand, 17 percent of people older than 50 years have not been vaccinated at all.

A doctor's advice also matters. About 77 percent of older adults say their health care provider's recommendation about COVID-19 vaccination is very or somewhat important to their decision to get vaccinated. A doctor's advice was most important for those older than 65 years (56 percent), Black people (79 percent), retirees (56 percent), or those with incomes less than $30,000 (56 percent).

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