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A growing number of U.S. adults are hesitant to get recommended vaccines this fall, a new survey found.

The poll, which included 1,006 people, found that only 43% of respondents have gotten or plan to get the COVID vaccine.

Only a slight majority (56%) of adults said they have gotten or plan to get the flu shot this fall.

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The poll also found that 37% of those who have gotten vaccines in past years plan to skip the shots this season. 

Around one-third of respondents also said they don’t believe they need the vaccines mentioned in the survey — flu, COVID, RSV or pneumococcal pneumonia.

Vaccine hesitancy tends to skew younger, as adults aged 65 and older are the most likely to get the recommended immunizations.

The nationwide survey was conducted by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in mid-August 2024.

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These findings come just weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the 2024-2025 season.

“We’re at the start of respiratory virus season, when you have the triple threat of flu, COVID-19 and RSV,” said Nora Colburn, MD, medical director of clinical epidemiology at Ohio State’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, in a press release.

Around one-third of respondents also said they don’t believe they need the vaccines mentioned in the survey — flu, COVID, RSV or pneumococcal pneumonia. (iStock)

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about vaccinations, but the reality is that they are safe and highly effective in preventing serious illness and death,” she went on.

“Older adults, people with certain chronic medical conditions, and those who are pregnant are especially at risk during respiratory virus season.”

‘Vaccine fatigue’

Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, reacted to the poll’s findings.

“It’s obviously not surprising that 37% of people said they had been vaccinated in the past but weren’t planning to this year,” he told Fox News Digital. 

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“We just had a vaccine mandate a couple of years ago, and furthermore, childhood vaccines are very broadly administered, so those 37% are people who wouldn’t be getting a vaccine normally anyway.”

The reported rate of 56% for the flu shot is a little above average, Glanville said, as it tends to hover at around 50%.

“Coronavirus vaccination rates are a little lower than for the flu,” he noted. 

Adults aged 65 and older are the most likely to get the recommended immunizations. (iStock)

This could be due to lack of clarity with the public over how COVID should be treated post-pandemic, according to Glanville.

“It’s also fatigue due to the COVID vaccines not being particularly effective at preventing symptoms, which causes people to believe that they are not effective (although they do protect against severe illness),” he added.

‘Concerning’ trend

Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, said he finds the poll’s findings concerning.

“Both vaccines wane over six months, so a yearly booster makes sense for high-risk groups,” he told Fox News Digital.

“I recommend a yearly booster for the elderly, immunocompromised and those with chronic illness.”

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Siegel estimates that this year’s flu season will be similar to last year’s, which was “moderate,” with 25,000 deaths and 400,000 hospitalizations. 

“The flu shot decreases severity and number of hospitalizations by about a quarter, and helps to provide community immunity,” he added.

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For COVID, Siegel warned that the virus’ activity is still fairly high — “especially in the western U.S.”

The doctor also warned of a new variant circulating in Europe, which he expects will soon be in the U.S., known as the XEC subvariant.

Everyone 6 months and older is advised to get vaccinated against influenza, according to the CDC. (iStock)

“It seems to be more contagious — it causes congestion, cough, loss of smell and appetite, sore throat and body aches,” he told Fox News Digital.

“The new vaccine should provide at least some coverage.”

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told Siegel that very young children are being hospitalized at a greater rate — “likely because they haven’t been vaccinated with the primary series.”

“I recommend a yearly booster for the elderly, immunocompromised and those with chronic illness, along with anyone who is at risk for long COVID or has had it previously,” Siegel said.

The CDC’s vaccine recommendations

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued the following vaccine recommendations.

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Flu: Everyone 6 months and older is advised to get vaccinated against influenza.

COVID-19: The latest version of the COVID vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older.

The latest version of the COVID vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. (iStock)

RSV: The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine is recommended for everyone aged 75 and older, as well as those aged 60 to 74 who have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or who live in nursing homes, as they are at a higher risk of severe disease. Pregnant women are also advised to get the vaccine during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy.

Pneumococcal: Everyone younger than 5 years and age 65 and older is advised to get the pneumococcal vaccine, along with those who are at increased risk of severe disease.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the OSU research team for comment.

Boosting a specific protein in the brain could help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has found.

The longstanding theory is that Alzheimer’s occurs when a protein called amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) transforms into plaques that build up in the brain, causing damage to neural cells and leading to cognitive decline.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have challenged that assumption, instead suggesting that the disease is caused by low levels of healthy, functioning Aβ42, according to a UC press release.

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They based this hypothesis on the fact that newly approved monoclonal antibody medications — including lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla) — have had the unintended outcome of raising levels of the protein in the brain.

“The new Alzheimer’s treatments, which were designed to remove amyloid plaques, unintentionally raised Aβ42 levels, and this may explain their positive effects on cognition as much as — or better than — amyloid reduction,” lead study author Alberto J. Espay, MD, professor of neurology at the Gardner Family Center for Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders at UC, told Fox News Digital via email.

“Higher Aβ42 levels after treatment were associated with slower cognitive decline, suggesting that restoring this protein to normal levels might be more beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients than removing amyloid.”

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In the study, the researchers reviewed data from nearly 26,000 Alzheimer’s patients who participated in 24 randomized clinical trials for the newly approved antibody treatments.

They compared the cognitive abilities of patients before and after taking the new medications, and found that the increased amounts of Aβ42 were linked to “slower cognitive impairment and clinical decline.”

The findings were published in the medical journal Brain on Sept. 11.

Understanding amyloid

Amyloid plaques aren’t necessarily a bad thing, according to the researchers.

“Along with other studies, the collective evidence suggests that amyloid plaques are a response of a normally reactive brain to many stressors, some infectious, some toxic, some biological,” Espay told Fox News Digital.

The longstanding theory is that Alzheimer’s occurs when a protein called amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) transforms into plaques that build up in the brain, causing damage to neural cells and leading to cognitive decline. (iStock)

“They are a sign the brain is dealing with a stressor appropriately.”

The researcher referred to amyloid plaques as “the tombstones of Aβ42,” noting that they can’t do anything harmful to the brain.

“Most researchers do not believe Alzheimer’s is driven by only one biological mechanism.”

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“Amyloid plaques don’t cause Alzheimer’s, but if the brain makes too much of them while defending against infections, toxins or biological changes, it can’t produce enough Aβ42, causing its levels to drop below a critical threshold,” he said.

“That’s when dementia symptoms emerge.” 

The study questions the long-entrenched idea that amyloid plaques directly cause Alzheimer’s and that removing them is part of the solution.

“Beta amyloid is certainly an important and key player, but we also know that tau protein, the immune system, vascular system, metabolic health, environment and more all play a role in the disease process,” an Alzheimer’s expert said. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

“Building the levels of Aβ42 without removing amyloid — which is quite futile, and can be harmful — is worth testing as a future therapy,” Espay added.  

Looking ahead, the UC research team plans to investigate therapies that directly increase Aβ42 levels without targeting amyloid.

‘A very complex disease’

Ozama Ismail, PhD, director of scientific programs at the Alzheimer’s Association in Washington, D.C., was not involved in UC’s study, but commented on the findings.

“While this Aβ42-related hypothesis may turn out to be a part of what causes and encourages progression of Alzheimer’s, it is a very complex disease, and most researchers do not believe Alzheimer’s is driven by only one biological mechanism,” he told Fox News Digital. 

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“Beta amyloid is certainly an important and key player, but we also know that tau protein, the immune system, vascular system, metabolic health, environment and more all play a role in the disease process.”

While FDA-approved drugs targeting amyloid are now available and in use, Ismail calls for a comprehensive approach to Alzheimer’s treatment that involves multiple approaches.

“Understanding the entire underlying biology and related mechanisms is important to expand our pipeline of treatments and prevention strategies,” an expert said of Alzheimer’s treatment. (iStock)

He recommends “a combination of therapies targeting multiple mechanisms, as well as lifestyle interventions, much like how other major diseases like diabetes, HIV/AIDS and heart disease are treated.”

Added Ismail, “Understanding the entire underlying biology and related mechanisms is important to expand our pipeline of treatments and prevention strategies.”

Potential limitations

Espay also acknowledged the limitation that none of the published studies have allowed access to the individual-level data. 

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“We can only work with the group-level data published,” he told Fox News Digital. “Despite this limitation, the results were robustly supported.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biogen and Eisai (makers of Leqembi) and Eli Lilly (maker of Kisunla) requesting comment.