More than 40 percent of Americans do not plan on getting a flu vaccine during the 2018-19 season, according to a survey from NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research institution.
For the survey, NORC interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,202 adults between November 14-19.
Here are five survey findings:
1. Forty-three percent of adults said they received a flu vaccination this season, and 14 percent had not gotten a flu shot yet, but still planned to get vaccinated.
2. In contrast, 41 percent of respondents said they did not receive a flu shot and didn't plan to get one.
3. Adults over age 60 reported the highest vaccination rate at 62 percent. However, 24 percent of seniors said they don't plan to get vaccinated this season.
4. Adults under age 45 were least likely to have gotten a flu shot. About 50 percent said they do not plan to get vaccinated.
5. The most common reasons adults cited for not getting a flu shot were concerns about the vaccine's side effects (36 percent), concerns about getting sick from the shot (31 percent) and skepticism about the vaccine's efficacy (31 percent). Only 6 percent said the vaccine cost too much, and 5 percent said they don't have time to get vaccinated.