Memeorandum pointed me to a Rasmussen poll summary showing “More Than 1-in-4 Think Someone They Know Died From COVID-19 Vaccines.” Granting that Rasmussen’s polling tends to have a modest Republican skew, the starkness of the result is nonetheless interesting.
The press release’s summary of the topline findings:
Nearly half of Americans think COVID-19 vaccines may be to blame for many unexplained deaths, and more than a quarter say someone they know could be among the victims.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that (49%) of American Adults believe it is likely that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths, including 28% who think it’s Very Likely. Thirty-seven percent (37%) don’t say a significant number of deaths have been caused by vaccine side effects, including 17% who believe it’s Not At All Likely. Another 14% are not sure.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of adults say they personally know someone whose death they think may have been caused by side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, while 61% don’t and another 10% are not sure.
The summary invites readers to look at the poll questions themselves. Here they are, in their entirety:
- Have you received a COVID-19 vaccination?
- How likely is it that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths?
- Do you personally know anyone whose death you think may have been caused by side effects of COVID-19 vaccines?
- Which is closer to your belief, that there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, or that people who worry about vaccine safety are spreading conspiracy theories?
None of these strike me as leading or otherwise problematic.
Here’s how responses break down:
Have you received a COVID-19 vaccination?
- 71% yes
- 26% no
- 3% not sure
How likely is it that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths?
- 28% very likely
- 21% somewhat likely
- 20% not very likely
- 17% not at all likely
- 14% not sure
Do you personally know anyone whose death you think may have been caused by side effects of COVID-19 vaccines?
- 28% yes
- 61% no
- 10% not sure
Which is closer to your belief, that there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, or that people who worry about vaccine safety are spreading conspiracy theories?
- 48% there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines
- 37% people who worry about vaccine safety are spreading conspiracy theories
- 15% not sure
The crosstabs are available at the link. But the press release’s summary gets to the most obvious question:
More Democrats (85%) than Republicans (63%) or those not affiliated with either major party (64%) have been vaccinated against COVID-19. More Republicans (60%) than Democrats (44%) or the unaffiliated (43%) think there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. However, there is less political difference in the number who suspect someone they know might have died from vaccine side effects – 33% of Democrats and 26% of both Republicans and the unaffiliated.
It will surprise none of you that Democrats are significantly more likely to be vaccinated and Republicans are significantly more likely to be concerned with vaccine safety. That Democrats are more likely to say they know someone who may have died from side effects, though, is therefore a head-scratcher. But it’s worth noting that analysis of subgroups is trickier given a higher margin of error. (The survey had 1000 respondents, which is quite robust for a general sample. But the subsamples are obviously much smaller.)
Forty-six percent (46%) of whites, 48% of blacks and 57% of other minorities believe it is at least somewhat likely that side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths.
That doesn’t surprise me at all. For a variety of reasons, racial minorities are going to be more suspicious of things promoted by the government.
Younger Americans are less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and 35% of adults under 40 believe someone they know personally might have died from vaccine side effects, compared to 28% of those 40-64 and just 14% of Americans 65 and older.
Again, this is the reverse of what I’d have guessed given that older Americans skew Republican and are more likely to watch Fox News, etc. My guess is that, because that group is so heavily vaccinated, they simply have more lived experience with the vaccine’s effects.
Slightly more men (52%) than women (47%) think it is at least somewhat likely that a significant number of unexplained deaths may have been caused by side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
That doesn’t surprise me, since men are more likely to be Republican.
Married adults are more likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than their unmarried peers, but more married (33%) than unmarried (23%) Americans think someone they know personally might have died from vaccine side effects.
Presumably, this overlaps with the age data: marrieds are likelier to be older.
Voters with annual incomes below $30,000 are most likely to think there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, while those with incomes above $200,000 are most likely to believe people who worry about vaccine safety are spreading conspiracy theories.
That’s the least surprising finding of all.
Oddly, this made it into the survey’s headline:
The documentary Died Suddenly has been criticized as promoting “debunked” anti-vaccine conspiracy theories but has been seen by some 15 million people.
I don’t know that I was even aware of its existence but, first, 15 million people is a rounding error [in explaining a phenomenon in a nation of 330 million] and, second, those inclined to watch such a thing are surely predisposed to conspiracy theories.
