33% Agree COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Is Killing Large Numbers of People’

Nearly a quarter of those who got vaccinated against COVID-19 regret it, and a third agree with a medical expert’s condemnation of the vaccine as deadly.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 24% of American Adults who got at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine regret getting vaccinated against the virus. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of vaccine recipients have no regrets about it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

In January 2023, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough said: "The vaccine is killing people, and is killing large numbers of people." Thirty-three percent (33%) of American Adults agree with that statement, including 16% who Strongly Agree. Fifty-seven percent (57%) disagree, including 39% who Strongly Disagree. Another 11% are not sure.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,232 American Adults was conducted June 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.

Seventeen percent (17%) have a lot of trust for the medical and pharmaceutical industries, 37% say they have some trust, 25% don’t have much trust and 18% have no trust at all in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Twenty-five percent (25%) of American Adults say they never took the COVID-19 vaccine, while 14% got only one dose, 20% got more than one vaccine and 38% got the vaccine plus one or more booster shots.

The survey found a correlation between how many vaccine doses people reported getting and how much trust they have in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Among those who got the COVID-19 vaccine plus boosters, 80% have at least some trust in the medical and pharmaceutical industries – a finding that is just 41% among those who got just one vaccine dose, and only 30% among those who took no vaccine at all.

Similarly, among those who got only one COVID-19 vaccine, 43% regret getting the vaccine, while just 10% of those who got the vaccine plus boosters have regrets.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of those who never got vaccinated against COVID-19 and 38% of those who got only one dose of the vaccine at least somewhat agree with Dr. McCullough’s statement, "The vaccine is killing people, and is killing large numbers of people." However, that opinion is shared by just 10% of those who got the vaccine plus boosters. 

There are also political differences in attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Forty-percent (40%) of Republicans, but only 11% of Democrats and 25% of those not affiliated with either major party, say they never took the vaccine. More than half (53%) of Democrats say they got the vaccine plus boosters, compared to 21% of Republicans and 38% of the unaffiliated.

Among those who got at least one vaccine dose, more Republicans (39%) than Democrats (14%) or the unaffiliated (26%) regret getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

Democrats (70%) are more likely than Republicans (38%) or the unaffiliated (52%) to have at least some trust  in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Republicans (53%) are more likely than Democrats (18%) or the unaffiliated (29%) to at least somewhat agree with Dr. McCullough’s statement, "The vaccine is killing people, and is killing large numbers of people."

Older Americans are much more likely to have taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Only eight percent (8%) of those 65 and older did not get the vaccine, compared to 21% of Americans ages 40-64 and 37% of adults under 40. A majority (54%) of Americans 65 and older got the vaccine plus boosters, compared to 45% of those ages 40-64 and just 22% of adults under 40. Men under 40 are more likely to agree with Dr. McCullough that the COVID-19 vaccine “is killing large numbers of people."

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of whites, 76% of blacks, 77% of Hispanics and 81% of other minorities got at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Hispanics are most likely to agree that the vaccine “is killing large numbers of people."

A majority of Americans with annual incomes over $100,000 got the COVID-19 vaccine plus boosters, compared to less than a third of those with incomes below $100,000. While 42% of Americans earning between $30,000 and $50,000 at least somewhat agree with Dr. McCullough that the COVID-19 vaccine “is killing large numbers of people," that opinion is shared by just 16% of those earning more than $200,000 a year.

By a 30-point margin, more Americans say their personal finances have gotten worse than better, and less than a third of them expect their situation to improve in the months ahead.

Graduates of Ivy League universities may think they’re better than everybody else, but Americans overwhelmingly disagree. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown  are available to the public as well as Platinum Members."

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.