Less than half of U.S. adults surveyed in a new poll said they believed COVID-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant women.
Forty-two percent of the nearly 1,700 adults surveyed by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, when asked whether COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy was safe, said that was probably or definitely true, the center said on Sept. 30.
Another 22 percent said it was probably or definitely false, while the rest said they were not sure.
Broken down by age and sex, women of childbearing age were less likely to say COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women was safe, with just 36 percent answering yes, and 28 percent saying it is not.
When asked whether they would recommend COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, just 38 percent of respondents said yes, while 44 percent said no.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for years recommended that pregnant women receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC in May stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, following orders from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy said in a directive that there was a “lack of high-quality data” showing vaccination during pregnancy was safe, as well as uncertainty pertaining to the benefits of vaccination.
A number of health care groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, still recommend pregnant women receive a COVID-19 vaccine, citing in part observational data from the CDC that estimated COVID-19 vaccination provided 44 percent protection against hospitalization associated with COVID-19, decreasing to negative 1 percent after 180 days.
Researchers, including CDC adviser Retsef Levi, said in a preprint paper this year that there was a higher number of fetal loss, including miscarriage, following COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women in Israel.
Levi and other advisers recently advised the CDC to change its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations from recommended for virtually every person apart from healthy children and pregnant women to on an individual basis, following discussion with a doctor. The CDC has not yet accepted the advice.
A majority of respondents to the Annenberg Public Policy Center, which was carried out by market research company SSRS, said they believe COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is effective at minimizing the chances of being hospitalized with COVID-19, and can reduce the risk of COVID-19 complications that can impact a pregnancy.
The poll was conducted from Aug. 5 to Aug. 18. There were 1,699 respondents. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent.
A separate poll conducted around the same time by KFF and The Washington Post found a majority of respondents said it was not too important or not at all important for children to be vaccinated against COVID-19. That survey of 2,716 parents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent, also found that about one in six parents have delayed or not gotten at least one of the recommended vaccines for their children.
Just 14.4 percent of pregnant women received a COVID-19 vaccine in late 2024 or early 2025, according to the CDC. That percent was even lower, 13 percent, for children.