Doctors are noticing an uptick in vaccine hesitancy, survey finds
Healthcare professionals in the U.S. have noticed a significant increase in vaccine hesitancy among their patients, according to a survey conducted by the physician social network Sermo.
Roughly 88% of healthcare professionals surveyed say they’ve observed a shift in how the public views vaccines, and 85% have seen more of their patients becoming hesitant about getting vaccinated.
Sermo interviewed 108 healthcare professionals this month, including primary care physicians, pediatricians, OBGYNs, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and retail pharmacists.
Respondents highlighted the striking pace of this shift in public perception. While 63% of healthcare professionals have observed changes over the past five years, 28% report a sharp increase in vaccine hesitancy within just the last year.
The vaccines most impacted by this growing hesitancy include those for COVID-19, the flu, HPV, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), and RSV.
“Vaccine hesitancy trends have gone up significantly since the COVID vaccine. Part of it stems from semi-true but exaggerated reports of side effects, which social media has amplified,” said Dr. Ashish Rana, a Sermo Medical Advisory Board member. “Another factor is mistrust in the pharmaceutical industry for rapidly developing new vaccines, such as the RSV vaccine, which has left society feeling overwhelmed. Patients are now rejecting even long-established vaccines, like those for flu and pneumococcal diseases.”
The survey’s findings come as rates for both seasonal and routine vaccines are declining.
During the 2023–24 flu season, 55.4% of children ages 6 months to 17 years received at least one dose of the flu vaccine. This marks a 2 percentage point decrease from the previous season and an 8.3 percentage point drop compared to the pre-pandemic 2019–20 season, when the rate was 63.7%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the lowest flu vaccination rate among children in 12 years, with the last comparable rate being 51.5% during the 2011–12 season.
Among adults 18 and older, flu vaccination coverage was 44.9%, down 2 percentage points from the prior season.
The news also comes as President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known vaccine skeptic, to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Healthcare providers are the primary source of information, but it’s crucial to consistently reinforce key messages and proactively address misinformation as it arises,” Dr. Claudia Martorell, an infectious disease specialist, told Sermo.
