Americans were less reluctant about the COVID-19 vaccine in 2022 compared to 2021, according to data released by Nature Magazine this week.
The data found that over 80% of Americans accepted that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in 2022, compared to about 20% who don’t. The United States’ vaccine acceptance rate was about 20% higher compared to 2021, the data found.
Globally, the U.S. is now slightly more acceptant of the COVID-19 vaccine than the global average of 79%.
Among those who are vaccinated, 13% of Americans surveyed said they were hesitant about booster shots.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, 69.1% of the U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated. While most Americans are vaccinated, only a fraction have gotten an updated booster shot. Just 15.4% of the eligible population have gotten a COVID-19 booster since they became available in September.
Several nations, including China, Brazil and the United Kingdom, were more vaccine-hesitant in 2022 than in 2021. Globally, vaccine hesitancy was down about 5% in 2022 compared to 2021.
Out of 23 nations surveyed, India was the most vaccine-acceptant nation at 98.3% and South Africa was the only one where a majority said they were vaccine-hesitant.