Poll Finds Herd Immunity in U.S. Possible by Summer

Seventy percent of American adults could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by this summer, a new poll suggests.

The survey results bode well for the country and likely mean that President Joe Biden's goal of 70 percent vaccine coverage for adults by July 4 will be reached.

In the latest Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 62 percent of respondents said they had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up from 56 percent in April. Even better, about a third of those who had taken the stance of "wait-and-see" said they had already made vaccine appointments or planned to do so soon. The greatest increases in vaccination rates from April to May were seen among two important groups: Latino adults (47 to 57 percent) and adults without college degrees (48 to 55 percent).

But more good news was to be found in the poll: Forty percent of parents of adolescents said their child had already received at least one dose or would be getting one soon. On May 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 12 years and older. But parents of younger children were more guarded, with only about a quarter expressing a willingness to get their children vaccinated as soon as the shots become authorized for them, the poll found.

The telephone survey of 1,526 adults was conducted in English and Spanish from May 18 through May 25.