KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Concerns And Precautions Among Adults Who Report A Weakened Or Compromised Immune System

As COVID-19 cases in the U.S. rise in a surge driven by the highly transmissible Omicron BA.5 subvariant alongside the widespread lifting of mask mandates and other coronavirus-related safety precautions, many immunocompromised adults and those with weakened immune systems continue to be at a higher risk of severe illness and death from a coronavirus infection, even after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey finds that adults who report having at any time been told by a doctor they have a weakened or compromised immune system are more likely than other adults to say they are worried about becoming seriously sick with COVID-19 or developing long COVID, while many continue to take precautions against COVID-19 such as masking and social distancing.

Who Reports Having Weakened Or Compromised Immune Systems?

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many news reports have emphasized the increased sense of risk among some immunocompromised adults or those living with a chronic illness or disability. Prior KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor polling from February showed that concern for immunocompromised adults was widespread, with a majority of the public expressing worry that immune-compromised people would be left behind if the government were to lift pandemic restrictions. KFF’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey finds that about one in ten adults (11%) say a doctor or health care provider has told them that they are immunocompromised or have a weakened or compromised immune system¹ . Among adults in this group, two-thirds are women (66%) and about six in ten are ages 50 and older (61%). A majority of adults who say they are immunocompromised report that they are not currently employed, including one in five who are on disability or can’t work (20%),

Given the disproportionate risk of severe COVID-19 illness for immunocompromised adults, the CDC currently recommends a second booster dose for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. KFF’s most recent COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey shows that large shares of adults who say they were told by a health care provider that they have a weakened or compromised immune system report having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (82%), including about six in ten (57%) who report receiving at least one booster dose. Just under one in five say they are unvaccinated (18%).

Heightened Worry Of Covid-19 Risk Among Adults Who Report Weakened Or Compromised Immune Systems

For immunocompromised adults and those with certain medical conditions, coronavirus poses a heightened risk of severe illness, the need for hospitalization or intensive care, and death.

Among adults who have at any point been told by a doctor or health care provider that they have a compromised or weakened immune system, a majority say they are either “very” or “somewhat” worried they will develop long COVID (65%) or get seriously sick from COVID-19 (61%). Fewer of those who have not been told they are immunocompromised report worrying over the effects of coronavirus infection, with just under four in ten reporting they are either worried about developing long COVID (37%) or getting seriously sick from COVID-19 (36%).

Continued Precautions Against COVID-19

While disproportionate shares of adults who report being told they are immunocompromised express worry over the effects of COVID-19 illness, further shares say they have continued to take precautions as pandemic-related restrictions have dissipated. When asked to say in their own words what they’ve done to adjust as COVID-19 restrictions and mask mandates are lifted, four in ten say they continue to wear face masks, with smaller shares saying they are still staying home (14%) and social distancing or avoiding crowds (11%). While substantial shares report making these adjustments as an immunocompromised person during the pandemic, about one in six (17%) say they have done nothing to adjust.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into its second year, many immunocompromised adults report taking continued precautions to mitigate the risks posed by coronavirus infection. Below, in their own words, are some specific adjustments that these more vulnerable adults have made.

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 July 7 - 17, 2022, online and by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 1,847 U.S. adults. Interviews were conducted in English (n=1760) and in Spanish (n=87). The sample includes 1,585 adults reached through the SSRS Opinion Panel either online (n=1545) or over the phone (n=40), including an oversample of parents with a child under age 5 (n=471) and parents with a child in another age group (n=757). 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 4 reminder emails.

Another 250 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 sample also included 12 respondents reached by calling back respondents that had previously completed an interview on the KFF Tracking poll.

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 4 percentage points. Numbers of respondents and margins of sampling error for key subgroups are shown in the table below. Sample sizes and margins of sampling error for other subgroups may be higher and 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. KFF public opinion and survey research is a charter member of the Transparency Initiative of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

1. This estimate is based upon adults who in the July 2022 KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey reported they have ever been told by a doctor or health care provider that they are immunocompromised or that they have a weakened or compromised immune system. This estimate may differ from other clinical estimates of the share of immunocompromised adults based on specific conditions. ↩︎