Poll Suggests Vaccinated People Still Worry About Getting Sick from COVID-19

The most vaccinated people in the U.S. might still be more worried than unvaccinated people about getting sick from COVID-19. Why?

According to a poll from the Morning Consult and New York Times (Lean Left bias), 68% of people in the U.S. who have received a COVID-19 booster shot remain "very" or "somewhat" worried about getting sick from COVID-19 in the next year. That number is 61% for vaccinated, non-boosted people and just 39% for unvaccinated people. Twenty-seven percent of unvaccinated people say they're not worried at all about getting sick from COVID-19, compared to just 6% of boosted people who say the same. Reports across the spectrum say that vaccines offer good protection against severe illness, and evidence is growing that natural immunity has a similar effect; a recent U.S. study suggests that people who had previously been infected with COVID-19 were more protected against the Delta variant than those who were vaccinated but not previously infected. Roughly 63% of Americans are fully vaccinated, and roughly 40% of them have received a booster shot.

Some right-rated voices blamed pandemic policies for purportedly forcing vaccinated people to continue being anxious and concerned despite them being at low risk of severe illness. New York Times writer David Leonhardt called boosted people's concerns about getting sick from COVID-19 "a remarkable disconnect between perception and reality," while also framing unvaccinated peoples' lack of concern as irrational and describing how some conservatives and progressives have made vaccination status core to their identities.