Majority plan to skip COVID-19 vaccine, sparking conversation
This week, online posts discussed the lack of public interest in fall COVID-19 vaccines, HHS funding cuts for mRNA vaccines, and vaccinations for the new school year.
This week, online posts discussed the lack of public interest in fall COVID-19 vaccines, HHS funding cuts for mRNA vaccines, and vaccinations for the new school year.
Online vaccine conversations this week highlighted declining public trust in vaccines, including childhood, mRNA-based, and COVID-19 immunization. After news broke that the federal government slashed over $500 million in mRNA vaccine research funding, some argued that the public has rejected the technology. This claim was bolstered by recent survey data suggesting that nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults don’t plan to get COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, back-to-school discourse focused on a rise in school vaccine exemptions and parental concerns about childhood vaccines.
Insights brought to you by the reporters and science writers of Public Good News (PGN), a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to improving community health.
What’s trending in vaccine conversation:
An August 1 KFF survey found that 59 percent of Americans don’t intend to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall. Online responses to the survey argued that people no longer trust vaccines and that the public is “waking up” to the alleged dangers of COVID-19 vaccines in particular. Some users falsely claimed that health officials “admitted” that COVID-19 vaccines are deadly, while others insinuated that the COVID-19 vaccine is going to be secretly added to flu shots or released into the air. Several commenters said they plan to get vaccinated because they or their loved ones are at high risk. Some posts noted that people may be confused about their eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines due to changing guidelines.
On August 5, the health secretary announced the cancellation of over half a billion dollars in funding for mRNA vaccine research, saying the department will prioritize “safer” vaccines. Experts and social media users discussed the announcement, with many arguing that it undermines public trust in vaccines. A researcher and Nobel Prize winner for pioneering mRNA vaccine research criticized the decision as an attack on science. Some social media users discussed the safety and effectiveness of mRNA vaccines, while others expressed concern about the funding cut’s impact on the development of mRNA-based therapies, particularly cancer vaccines. Anti-vaccine proponents cheered the announcement, calling mRNA vaccines “poison” and “bioweapons.”
Parents online are discussing school vaccination as they prepare for the new school year. Many social media users urged parents to vaccinate their children, citing recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Anti-vaccine posts spreading false claims about vaccine ingredients and vaccine “shedding” and encouraging parents to forgo “toxic” vaccines dominated the responses to news coverage of back-to-school vaccines. Several encouraged parents to seek non-medical vaccine exemptions for their children. This debate follows a new CDC report, which revealed that school vaccine exemptions have reached record highs, with 17 state exemption rates exceeding 5 percent.
Read the fact checks:
- Very Well Health: What to Know About COVID Vaccine This Fall
- Stanford Medicine Children’s Health: What Every Parent Should Know About Immunizations
- Public Good News: Dispelling myths about mRNA vaccines
Recommendations brought to you by the health communication experts behind Infodemiology.com.
Recommendations for public health professionals
Each week the Infodemiology.com team will provide messaging recommendations in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. Use these helpful tips when creating content, updating web pages and FAQs, and to inform strategy for messaging about vaccines.
Online discourse about updated 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines reveals a decline in public concern about COVID-19 and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines. Health communicators may continue to emphasize that vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness, hospitalization, long COVID, and death. Messaging may explain that, while those at high risk benefit most from COVID-19 vaccination, the vaccine protects people of all ages, including healthy children.
Cutting federal funding for mRNA vaccine research due to unsupported safety concerns may undermine public confidence in vaccines and mRNA technology. Debunking messaging may continue to explain that mRNA vaccines are safe and based on decades of research. Messaging may also emphasize that, over the past 5 years, there has been no evidence of widespread health concerns linked to mRNA vaccines.
Parents may be confused about the safety and importance of routine childhood vaccines due to increasingly mainstream anti-vaccine rhetoric and misleading claims from high-ranking health officials. Emphasizing that all vaccines go through rigorous safety testing, including clinical trials, before they are approved for the public is recommended. Messaging may also highlight the decades of evidence showing that vaccines are safe and the only safe way to protect against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Interested in recommendations tailored to health care providers? Click here.