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.

Figure 1: TV News Tops Media Sources For COVID-19 Vaccine Information, Friends And Family Top Personal Sources Of Information

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.

Figure 2: Sources Of Information Are Similar For Both Those Who Believe Vaccine Misinformation And Those Who Do Not

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.

Figure 3: Specific Cable News Source Varies By Vaccine Enthusiasm And Hesitancy

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.

Figure 4: Specific Cable News Source Varies By Perception Of Seriousness Of COVID-19

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.

Figure 5: At Least One in Five Got Information About The Vaccine From Facebook, Including More Than A Third Of Those Most Reluctant

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.

Figure 6: Facebook Is The Top Social Media Information Source Across Perceptions Of The Seriousness Of COVID-19

Vaccine Hesitancy Methodology

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