FACT CHECK: Did The CDC Say 7 Out Of 10 Americans Are ‘Declining’ To Get COVID-19 Vaccines?
Posts shared on Facebook and Instagram claim the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put out data showing seven out of 10 Americans are “declining” COVID-19 vaccines.
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Verdict: False
There is no record of the CDC releasing that statistic. CDC data shows that, as of June 2, 50.8 percent of the total U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 41 percent of the total US population has been fully vaccinated.
Fact Check:
Three COVID-19 vaccines – Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – have received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration as of press time. In recent days, social media users have been claiming the CDC “quietly” released statistics showing seven out of 10 Americans, or 70 percent, are declining to take the vaccines.
There is no record of CDC reporting that statistic. A search of the CDC’s website and verified Twitter account did not yield any results for it. National and local media outlets also do not appear to have covered the supposed CDC finding.
The CDC’s COVID Data Tracker shows 50.8 percent of the total U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose as of June 2. 41 percent of the total U.S. population has been fully vaccinated as of the same date, according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker.
The Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey also tracks COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in partnership with the CDC. As of May 24, 11.4 percent of people 18 years or older in the U.S. “are hesitant about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the Census Bureau survey data.
The non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation on May 28 published survey findings reporting 7 percent of U.S. adults said they would get vaccinated “only if required” and 13 percent said they would “definitely not” do so. The survey was conducted May 18 to May 25, according to its methodology.
In February, the CDC did publish a report about “COVID-19 vaccination intent, perceptions, and reasons for not vaccinating” among groups that were prioritized for early vaccination. However, Check Your Fact didn’t find any instance in the report of the CDC saying seven out of 10 Americans were “declining” COVID-19 vaccinations.
Other fact-checkers have previously debunked claims that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are “experimental gene therapy” and that they alter the DNA of those who received them. (RELATED: Will The FDA Not Authorize Or Approve Any COVID-19 Vaccine?)
Check Your Fact reached out to the CDC for comment and will update this article if a response is provided.
