Source: RasmussenReports.com
Nearly a quarter of Americans believe someone they know died from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, and even more say they might be willing to become plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against vaccine makers.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 24% of American Adults say they know someone personally who died from side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. Sixty-nine percent (69%) don’t know anyone who died from being vaccinated against the virus. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Forty-two percent (42%) say that, if there was a major class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for vaccine side effects, they would be likely to join the lawsuit, including 24% who say it’s Very Likely they’d join such a lawsuit. Forty-seven percent (47%) aren’t likely to join a class-action lawsuit against vaccine makers, including 25% who say it’s Not At All Likely. Another 11% are not sure.
The survey of 1,110 American Adults was conducted on October 26 and 29-30, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Nearly half (47%) say they know someone personally who died from the COVID-19 virus, while 49% don’t know anyone who died from the virus, which became a pandemic in the United States in 2020.
Among those who say someone they know died from the COVID-19 virus, 41% also say they know someone who died from side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. By contrast, among those who say they don’t know anyone who died from the virus, only nine percent (9%) say they know someone who died from COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
Among those who say someone they know personally died from side effects of the vaccine, 69% would be likely to join a major class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies, including 44% who say it’s Very Likely they’d join such a lawsuit against vaccine makers.
More men (51%) than women (44%) say someone they know personally died from side effects of the vaccine.
Adults under 40 are less likely to say they know someone who died from the COVID-19 virus, but more likely to say they would join a major class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for vaccine side effects. Men under 40 are particularly likely to say they’d join a class-action lawsuit.
Forty-three percent (43%) of whites, 52% of blacks and 57% of other minorities say someone they know personally died from the COVID-19 virus. Fewer whites (20%) than blacks (28%) or other minorities (32%) say they know someone personally who died from vaccine side effects. Blacks are more likely to be willing to join a class-action lawsuit for vaccine side effects.
There are almost no political differences on these questions. For example, 25% of Republicans say they know someone personally who died from side effects of COVID-19 vaccine, as do 24% of Democrats and those not affiliated with either major party….