• Posted December 27, 2024

Has RSV Vaccine Hesitancy Subsided?

More Americans believe in the effectiveness of vaccines developed to protect newborns and seniors against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

More than half of U.S. adults (52%) think the RSV vaccine given to pregnant women will protect newborns from the infection, up from 42% a year ago, say survey results from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Another 61% say the RSV vaccine is effective for adults 60 and older, up from 54% last year, results show.

This increase “comes as several of president-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for leading policy-making health positions have cast doubt on the efficacy and safety of vaccines,” a press release from the Annenberg center notes.

These potential policymakers include “Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said ‘no vaccine’ is safe and effective, and CDC chief nominee Dave Weldon, who, like Kennedy, has promoted the disproven link between vaccines and autism,” the release added.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But it can be particularly dangerous for newborns and seniors, the CDC says. For example, RSV is the most common cause of pneumonia in children younger than 1.

The CDC has been urging vaccination as a means of preventing another “tripledemic” -- a combined wave of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV.

A tripledemic filled emergency rooms during the cold and flu season of 2022-2023, and might have resulted in more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S., the Annenberg release says.

As of Dec. 20, respiratory infections are moderate across the United States, the CDC says. ER visits for the flu and COVID are low, but RSV-related visits are high and increasing.

Overall, the Annenberg survey’s results seem to indicate that the public’s skepticism toward vaccines might have plateaued:

• 86% say the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) is safe, up from 81% in October 2023

• 83% say the flu vaccine is safe, unchanged from October 2023

• 65% say the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, unchanged from last fall

“In addition, despite continuing attacks on the safety and efficacy of certain vaccines by some politicians, 9 in 10 respondents say it is important for parents to get their children vaccinated,” the Annenberg release says. “72% say it is very or extremely important and 19% say it is somewhat important. Only 10% say it is not at all or not very important that parents get their children vaccinated.”

The survey involved 1,771 adults polled between Nov. 14 and Nov. 24. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.                                                

More information

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on RSV.

SOURCE: Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, news release, Dec. 23, 2024