KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: January 2021

Recent Sources of Information

These additional findings were released February 3, 2021.

The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor is an ongoing research project tracking the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations. Using a combination of surveys and qualitative research, this project tracks the dynamic nature of public opinion as vaccine development and distribution unfold, including vaccine confidence and hesitancy, trusted messengers and messages, as well as the public’s experiences with vaccination.

Key Findings

• Adults with differing levels of enthusiasm towards getting the COVID-19 vaccine also report different media sources of information. Among those who say they want to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they can, about half say they have gotten at least a fair amount of information about the vaccine from cable news (51%) and network television news (48%) in the past two weeks compared to about a third of adults who say they definitely will not get the vaccine (37% and 32% respectively) or who want to “wait and see” (37% and 36% respectively).
• Adults who are hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccine and say they want to “wait and see” before getting it or who say they definitely will not get it are more likely to say they have gotten information about the vaccine from social media (37% and 40% respectively) than those who are more enthusiastic about getting the vaccine (25%). This likely reflects the higher levels of enthusiasm for the vaccine among older adults – who are more likely to say they have gotten information from cable news – and reflects vaccine hesitancy among younger adults, who are more likely to say they have gotten information from social media.
• The public is also turning to more personal sources of information, as nearly four in ten adults say they have gotten vaccine information from family and friends. Notably, those who say they want the vaccine as soon as possible are more likely than those most resistant to the vaccine to say family and friends have been an information source.
• Adults who say they want to get the vaccine “as soon as they can” are most likely to say they have gotten information about the vaccine from CNN (41%) and MSNBC (31%) while those who say they will definitely not get the vaccine are most likely to say they have gotten information from Fox News (33%). This split reflects both the fractured media environment and the partisan differences in enthusiasm for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Facebook is a key social media source of information with at least one in five adults across levels of vaccine enthusiasm and hesitancy saying they got information about the vaccine from Facebook, including more than a third of those who say they definitely will not get the vaccine.

Recent Sources Of COVID-19 Vaccine Information

The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, conducted January 11-18, 2021, reports that majorities of the public say they do not have enough information about when they can get a COVID-19 vaccine and where to get their vaccine once it is time. As public health officials are tasked with making sure accurate and timely COVID-19 vaccination information is reaching the public, television news, social media, and family and friends are likely to be key mediums. Currently, many adults report getting information about the COVID-19 vaccine from television, including about four in ten who say that in the past two weeks they have gotten at least a fair amount of information about the vaccine from cable news (43%), network news (41%), and local TV news (40%). This includes a majority of adults 65 and older (54%) who say they have gotten at least a fair amount of information about the COVID-19 vaccine from cable news in the past two weeks. Notably, about two-thirds of Black adults – a group that is more likely to report they do not have enough information about where and when to get a COVID-19 vaccine – say they have gotten at least a fair amount of information about the vaccine from cable news (65%) and network news (68%) in the past two weeks.

Three in ten adults (31%) say they have gotten at least a fair amount of information about the vaccine from social media in the past two weeks while about one in five have gotten information from national newspapers (23%), radio (20%), and local newspapers (19%). Large shares of adults 18 to 29 (42%), Hispanic adults (40%), and Black adults (39%) report getting at least a fair amount of information about the vaccine from social media.

When it comes to more personal and direct sources of information, four in ten adults (40%) say they have gotten at least at a fair amount of information about the vaccine from family and friends. Though nearly eight in ten adults say they will turn to doctors, nurses and other health care providers when deciding whether to get vaccinated for COVID-19, currently most of the public is not getting recent information about the vaccine from these medical professionals as just three in ten (31%) report getting information from a doctor, nurse or other health care provider in the past two weeks. One in five adults (20%) say they have gotten information about the vaccine from an employer while fewer have gotten vaccine information from a health insurance provider (15%) or from a place of worship (9%). Though notably, Black (19%) and Hispanic adults (14%) are more likely than their White counterparts (7%) to say they have gotten a lot or a fair amount of vaccine information from a place of worship in the past two weeks.

Table 1: Sources Of Information By Age, Race/Ethnicity, And Community Type
	Age				Race/Ethnicity				Community type
Percent who say they got a lot or a fair amount of information about the COVID-19 vaccine from each of the following in the past two weeks:	18-29	30-49	50-64	65+	Black		Hispanic	White	Urban		Suburban	Rural
Media sources:
Cable news	34%	40%	45%	54%	65%		44%	40%	42%		44%	42%
Network TV news	34	38	40	52	68		47	36	41		40	41
Local TV news	28	37	43	53	59		54	35	42		40	36
Social media	42	37	28	16	39		40	27	34		30	28
National newspapers	31	27	16	20	28		28	21	25		24	16
Radio	18	20	22	19	29		27	17	22		21	13
Local newspapers	18	17	14	27	24		20	17	20		18	15
Personal sources:
Friends and family	41%	38%	40%	41%	48%		44%	37%	41%		39%	37%
A doctor, nurse, or other health care provider	35	31	30	29	38		30	30	32		31	30
An employer	27	23	20	8	20		24	18	22		20	13
A health insurance provider	12	12	15	25	28		20	13	15		16	14
A place of worship	5	8	11	13	19		14	7	9		8	14

Adults with differing levels of enthusiasm towards getting the COVID-19 vaccine report different media sources of information. Among the 41% of adults who say they want to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as they can, about half say they have gotten “a lot” or a “fair amount” of information about the vaccine from cable news (51%) and network television news (48%) in the past two weeks. Smaller shares of those who say they definitely will not get the vaccine and those who say they want to “wait and see” before getting the vaccine say they have gotten at least a fair amount of information about it from cable news or network news. Indeed, those who say they want to “wait and see” or who say they definitely will not get the vaccine are somewhat more likely to say they have gotten information about the vaccine from social media (37% and 40% respectively) than those who are more enthusiastic about getting the vaccine (25%).

Table 2: Media Sources Of Information By COVID-19 Vaccine Enthusiasm
Percent who say they got a lot or a fair amount of information about the COVID-19 vaccine from each of the following in the past two weeks:	Get it as soon as you can	Wait and see	Get it only if required	Definitely will not get vaccinated
Cable news	51%	37%	44%	37%
Network TV news	48	36	34	32
Local TV news	42	41	40	28
Social media	25	37	26	40
National newspapers	31	16	15	20
Radio	22	17	31	14
Local newspapers	22	15	17	15
NOTE: Among those who have not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine

One-third (33%) of the public believe or are unsure about at least one vaccine myth including that the vaccines currently being distributed contain the live virus that causes COVID-19, that it causes infertility, or that getting vaccinated requires paying an out-of-pocket cost. Despite concerns that vaccine misinformation may be spreading, particularly through social media, the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine monitor finds that overall, similar shares of both those who believe or are unsure about at least one of the these myths and those who do not believe this misinformation say they have gotten information from television news and social media.

While sizeable shares of adults across levels of vaccine enthusiasm say they have gotten information about the vaccine from friends and family in the past two weeks, those who say they want the vaccine as soon as possible are more likely than those most resistant to the vaccine to say family and friends have been an information source (44% vs. 34%). On the other hand, the most vaccine resistant group is at least twice as likely as those most enthusiastic for the vaccine to say they have gotten at least a fair amount of information from a place of worship (15% vs. 6%).

Table 3: Personal Sources Of Information By COVID-19 Vaccine Enthusiasm
Percent who say they got a lot or a fair amount of information about the COVID-19 vaccine from each of the following in the past two weeks:	Get it as soon as you can	Wait and see	Get it only if required	Definitely will not get vaccinated
Friends and family	44%	40%	28%	34%
A doctor, nurse, or other health care provider	32	25	21	31
An employer	17	18	23	14
A health insurance provider	16	13	13	16
A place of worship	6	10	7	15
NOTE: Among those who have not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine

Specific Cable News Information Sources

Reflecting the fractured media environment and the partisanship that has characterized the U.S. COVID-19 response, people with different levels of vaccine enthusiasm report different sources of COVID-19 vaccine information when it comes to cable news. Those who say they want to get the vaccine as soon as possible are most likely to say they have gotten information about the vaccine from CNN (41%) and MSNBC (31%), while those who say they will definitely not get the vaccine are most likely to say they have gotten information from Fox News (33%). Notably, those who say they definitely will not get the vaccine are about twice as likely to say they have gotten information from Newsmax (13%) than those who want to get the vaccine as soon as possible (5%) or who want to “wait and see” (6%). Among adults who say they want to “wait and see” before getting the vaccine or who say they will only get the vaccine if required, one in four say they have gotten information from CNN and Fox News.

When thinking about what is said in the news, adults who say they think the seriousness of COVID-19 is generally underestimated or generally accurate are most likely to say they have gotten information about the vaccine from CNN (43% and 36% respectively). On the other hand, those who say the seriousness of COVID-19 is exaggerated are most likely to say Fox News was their cable news source for information about the vaccine (29%). Similarly, those who say the seriousness of COVID-19 is exaggerated are three times as likely as those who say the seriousness of the virus has been presented accurately or has been underestimated to say they have gotten information from Newsmax. Given that people self-select their news sources, these data do not necessarily prove a causal relationship; it may be that those who believe the seriousness of COVID-19 is exaggerated are more likely to select specific news sources, rather than the news sources being the origin of the belief that the seriousness of COVID-19 is exaggerated.

Specific Social Media Information Sources

Facebook is a key social media source of information with at least one in five adults across levels of vaccine enthusiasm and hesitancy saying they got information about the vaccine from Facebook in the past two weeks. It emerges as a particularly important media source for those most reluctant to get the vaccine with 36% of those who say they will definitely not get the vaccine saying they have gotten information from Facebook.

Irrespective of whether people think the seriousness of COVID-19 has been exaggerated, accurately presented, or underestimated, Facebook maintains a dominant position as a social media source of information.