KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Pregnancy Misinformation – May 2022

Key Findings

• Misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines has been widespread and previous KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor research has found that belief and uncertainty about COVID-19 misinformation is common. Looking specifically at pregnancy-related misinformation about the vaccines, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that it still persists. About one in five adults (18%) and about three in ten women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant (29%) believe at least one of three false statements about pregnancy and the vaccines. This includes about one in seven adults (14%) and nearly one in four women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant (24%) who believe pregnant women should not get vaccinated for COVID-19.
• Beyond those who believe misinformation, an even larger share says they have heard these false statements and are unsure whether they are true or not. Overall, about six in ten adults and seven in ten women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant either believe or are unsure about at least one of three false statements about pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccines.
• While most of the public say they are at least somewhat confident in the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines for adults in general, they are less likely to express confidence that the vaccines are safe for those who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Even among Democrats and vaccinated adults – groups that express high levels of confidence in the safety of the vaccines for adults – less than half say they are “very confident” the vaccine is safe for those who are pregnant.
• With CDC estimates showing about three in ten pregnant women remain unvaccinated, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that a majority of women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant say they are “not too confident” or “not at all confident” that the vaccine is safe for pregnant women and those trying to get pregnant.

Misinformation On COVID-19 Vaccines And Pregnancy

There have been reports of widespread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and its effects on pregnancy, breastfeeding, and fertility. With pregnant women excluded from initial COVID-19 vaccine trials and conflicting early messages about whether they should get the vaccine, vaccination uptake among those who were pregnant lagged that of adults overall. Though the CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds that one in seven adults (14%) have heard that pregnant women should not get the COVID-19 vaccine and believe it to be true, rising to nearly one in four (24%) among women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.

The CDC also recommends COVID-19 vaccines for those who are breastfeeding, though about one in ten adults (10%) and about one in six women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (17%) say they have heard and believe that it is unsafe for women who are breastfeeding to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Another 7% of adults overall, rising to 16% of women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, say they have heard and believe that the COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to cause infertility.

Overall, belief in misinformation about the vaccines and pregnancy is relatively common, with about one in five adults (18%), and a similar share of women of reproductive age (ages 18 to 49) (20%), believing at least one item of misinformation asked about in the survey. Notably, about three in ten (29%) women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant say they have heard and believe at least one of these three false statements.

Beyond those who believe misinformation, an even larger share says they have heard these false statements and are unsure whether they are true or not, which may contribute to additional confusion.  About a third of the public overall say they have heard each of the false statements asked about in the survey and are unsure whether it is true. In total, about six in ten adults overall (62%) either believe or are unsure of at least one of these false statements about the vaccines and pregnancy.

Among those for whom questions about the safety of the vaccines and pregnancy are particularly relevant – women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant – nearly four in ten (37%) are unsure if pregnant women should not get the vaccines and 44% are unsure if the COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility. Altogether, among women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, 60% believe that pregnant women should not get the vaccine or are unsure if this is true, 58% believe or are unsure whether the vaccines have been shown to cause infertility, and 52% believe or are unsure whether it is unsafe for breastfeeding women to get vaccinated.

About seven in ten women under age 50 (69%) and women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant (72%) either believe or are unsure of at least one of these items of misinformation about the vaccines and pregnancy. Among women of reproductive age (ages 18-49), belief or uncertainty about this type of misinformation is more prevalent among those without a college degree (75% vs. 59% of college graduates) and those who are unvaccinated (83%). Notably, however, even among vaccinated women under age 50, six in ten (63%) say they have heard and believe or are unsure of at least one item of misinformation asked about in the survey.

Perceptions Of Safety Of COVID-19 Vaccines For Adults And Pregnant People

The widespread reach of misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy and fertility may be reinforcing concerns that many adults have heard about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for women who are pregnant or hope to become pregnant in the future. While about seven in ten adults say they are at least somewhat confident that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe for adults generally (72%), fewer express confidence in their safety for people who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant (53%). About a quarter of the public (23%) say they are “very confident” that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant while a further three in ten (30%) say they are “somewhat confident”. However, close to half say they are “not too confident” (22%) or “not confident at all” (23%).

The lower levels of confidence in the safety of the vaccines for those who are pregnant or are trying to become pregnant are present even among groups that express relatively high levels of confidence in vaccines for adults more generally. For example, 70% of Democrats say they are “very confident” that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe for adults, however a much smaller share (40%) say the same about the safety of vaccines for pregnant people and those trying to become pregnant. Similarly, a majority of vaccinated adults (57%) feel “very confident” about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for adults, while 30% say the same of vaccines for pregnant people.

Among women between the ages of 18 and 49, seven in ten are confident the vaccines are safe for adults more generally, while just under half (48%) express confidence that they are safe for those who are pregnant or trying to conceive. Unsurprisingly, very few (9%) unvaccinated women under 50 say they are confident the vaccine is safe for people who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, whereas about two-thirds (64%) of their vaccinated counterparts say they are confident it is safe for that group. Among women under the age of 50, college graduates are more likely than those without a college degree to say they are confident in the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people or those who plan to become pregnant (66% vs. 36%).

Forty-two percent of women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant say they are at least somewhat confident that the vaccine is safe for pregnant people and those trying to get pregnant while a majority say they are “not too confident” (31%) or “not at all confident” (27%). This lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine for those who are pregnant may have contributed to some women avoiding or delaying getting the vaccine, with CDC estimates showing about three in ten pregnant women remain unvaccinated.

This KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Poll was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The survey was conducted May 10-19, 2022, online and by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 1,537 U.S. adults including 615 women aged 18 to 49, conducted in English (1,442) and in Spanish (95). The sample includes 1,285 adults reached through the SSRS Opinion Panel either online or over the phone (n=60 in Spanish) with an oversample of women aged 18 to 49 (n=272). The SSRS Opinion Panel is a nationally representative probability-based panel where panel members are recruited randomly in one of two ways: (a) Through invitations mailed to respondents randomly sampled from an Address-Based Sample (ABS) provided by Marketing Systems Groups (MSG) through the U.S. Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence (CDS); (b) from a dual-frame random digit dial (RDD) sample provided by MSG. For the online panel component, invitations were sent to panel members by email followed by up to four reminder emails. 1,246 panel members completed the survey online and panel members who do not use the internet were reached by phone (39).

Another 252 (n=35 in Spanish) interviews were conducted from a random digit dial telephone sample of prepaid cell phone numbers obtained through MSG. Phone numbers used for the prepaid cell phone component were randomly generated from a cell phone sampling frame with disproportionate stratification aimed at reaching Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black respondents. Stratification was based on incidence of the race/ethnicity groups within each frame.

The combined cell phone and panel samples were weighted to match the sample’s demographics to the national U.S. adult population using data from the Census Bureau’s 2021 Current Population Survey (CPS). Weighting parameters included sex, age, education, race/ethnicity, region, and education. The sample was also weighted to match patterns of civic engagement from the September 2017 Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement data from the CPS. The sample was also weighted to match frequency of internet use from the National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) for Pew Research Center.  The weights take into account differences in the probability of selection for each sample type (prepaid cell phone and panel). This includes adjustment for the sample design and geographic stratification of the cell phone sample, within household probability of selection, and the design of the panel-recruitment procedure.

The margin of sampling error including the design effect for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Numbers of respondents and margins of sampling error for key subgroups are shown in the table below. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher. Sample sizes and margins of sampling error for other subgroups are available by request. Sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error and there may be other unmeasured error in this or any other public opinion poll. Kaiser Family Foundation public opinion and survey research is a charter member of the Transparency Initiative of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

This work was supported in part by grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF (an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation), the Ford Foundation, and the Molina Family Foundation. We value our funders. KFF maintains full editorial control over all of its policy analysis, polling, and journalism activities.