Over a quarter of Americans say they know someone they think died from COVID vaccine, poll

Nearly half of U.S. adults think that COVID-19 vaccines may have caused a significant number of unexplained deaths and more than one-in-four say they personally know someone whom they think may have died after receiving the shot, according to a new poll. 

While 37% of Americans think it is unlikely that the COVID vaccines caused a large number of unexplained deaths, 14% are unsure and 49% say it is likely, including 28% who said it is "very likely" the shots led to deaths, according to a Rasmussen poll released Monday.

When asked whether they personally knew anyone who may have died because of the COVID vaccine, 28% said yes and 61% said no.

Of those surveyed, 71% said they had received a COVID vaccine while 26% had not. This is not slightly off from the general U.S. population, as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that 91.8% of Americans over the age of 18 have received at least one COVID shot and 78.7% have completed their primary vaccine series.

The CDC's Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System received preliminary reports of death in 0.0027% of people vaccinated through Dec. 14, 2022.

Minorities are more likely to believe COVID vaccines may have led to a significant number of deaths as 46% of white adults, 48% of black Americans and 57% of other minorities believe it is at least somewhat likely the vaccine led to significant numbers of unexplained deaths.

The Rasmussen poll was conducted from Dec. 28-30 with 1,000 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3%.