More than a third of Americans who were vaccinated against COVID-19 say they had side effects from the shot, and nearly half suspect the vaccines killed many patients,
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 68% of American Adults say they got a COVID-19 vaccination, and a majority (60%) of vaccinated adults report no side effects from the vaccine. However, 26% say they had minor side effects and 10% reported major side effects from the vaccine. Based on a U.S. adult population of 258 million, this would mean 63 million had at least some side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 17 million who experienced major side effects. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Among all American Adults (including those who didn’t get vaccinated against COVID-19), 46% believe it is likely that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths – down from 55% in September 2024 – including 25% who say it’s Very Likely. Forty-four percent (44%) now don’t think a significant number of deaths have been caused by vaccine side effects, including 20% who believe it’s Not At All Likely. Another 12% are not sure.
The survey of 1,292 American Adults was conducted on November 10-12, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Those who didn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to suspect it had deadly side effects. Seventy percent (70%) of those who weren’t vaccinated, compared to 36% of those who did get the shot, consider it at least somewhat likely that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths.