Most Americans either don’t know or aren’t sure which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends during pregnancy, according to a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania.
Almost half of those surveyed knew that the CDC recommends seasonal influenza vaccines during pregnancy, but less than one-third knew that the CDC recommends Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), RSV (responsive virus), and hepatitis B vaccines when these vaccines are not up-to-date.
When it comes to coronavirus vaccines, more than half of those surveyed don’t know whether the CDC recommends them during pregnancy. The CDC says vaccines can help reduce the risk of severe illness from COVID-19, but does not explicitly recommend them. Rather, the CDC says its recommendations for coronavirus vaccines are “currently based on individual decision-making and are focused on weighing the benefits and risks of vaccination.”
Women of childbearing age (ages 18 to 49) are significantly more knowledgeable than other adult groups about most of the pregnancy vaccines recommended by the CDC, but many in this group are unsure of what is recommended.
Uncertainty was the dominant finding in this study. For each of the four vaccines the CDC recommends during pregnancy, at least 45% of respondents are unsure whether the CDC recommends them.
The findings are from an APPC survey of 1,031 U.S. adults conducted July 1-5, 2026 on research firm SSRS’ Opinion Panel Omnibus platform.
Our findings suggest that many Americans do not know which vaccines are recommended during pregnancy. The encouraging news is that relatively few people think the CDC recommends vaccines that: do not have advised during pregnancy. The challenge is to overcome widespread uncertainty about what the CDC is recommending. ”
Ken Winneg, APPC Managing Director of Research
CDC Recommendations During Pregnancy
According to CDC guidance, there are four vaccines that are routinely recommended during pregnancy:
- Get the seasonal influenza vaccine during influenza season.
- The Tdap vaccine should be given during pregnancy, preferably between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy.
- RSV vaccine is administered during weeks 32 to 36 during RSV season, which runs from September to January in most parts of the continental United States. Additional doses are not recommended during subsequent pregnancies.
- Hepatitis B vaccination for those who have not yet been vaccinated.
The CDC states, “Vaccination against the new coronavirus has the greatest benefit when you are at high risk for severe illness, such as during pregnancy. Pregnancy increases the risk of severe illness from the new coronavirus.” She added that if you contract COVID-19 while pregnant, you are at increased risk of complications that can affect your health and the health of your baby. The CDC recommends that COVID-19 vaccination decisions be made on an individual basis, weighing the benefits and risks.
Other medical experts are more clear in favor of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) strongly recommends that pregnant people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and says it “continues to recommend that all pregnant and breastfeeding people receive the most current COVID-19 vaccine or ‘booster’ immunization.”
Low awareness of recommended vaccines
Survey respondents were asked whether the CDC recommends each of eight vaccines during pregnancy. In addition to the five vaccines listed above, respondents were asked about three vaccines that the CDC does not recommend during pregnancy. MMR, measles, mumps, rubella. Varicella or chickenpox. and human papillomavirus or HPV.
Approximately one-quarter to less than half of all U.S. adults are correctly aware of any of the vaccines recommended by the CDC, with the least number of adults (23%) knowing that the CDC recommends the hepatitis B vaccine during pregnancy and the most knowing the seasonal influenza vaccine (48%).
With the exception of respiratory syncytial virus, women ages 18 to 49 are significantly more likely to correctly identify all CDC-recommended vaccines than other groups (adult men and women, all over 49). Among women aged 18-49, the least known vaccine recommended during pregnancy is the hepatitis B vaccine (30%), and the least known is the seasonal influenza vaccine (60%).
Uncertainty dominates
For most vaccines, the most common answer to whether the CDC recommends them during pregnancy is “I don’t know.” For each of the four recommended vaccines and the COVID-19 vaccine, between 45% and 66% of the overall adult population were unsure whether they were recommended. Among women of childbearing age, 32% to 58% were unsure about each vaccine.
Few people mistakenly think they should take vaccines that are not recommended.
Current CDC guidance recommends that the MMR vaccine and varicella vaccine not be administered during pregnancy because they are live virus vaccines. MMR and varicella vaccines should only be given before or after pregnancy. HPV vaccination is not recommended during pregnancy and, if necessary, should be delayed until after pregnancy.
The survey found that a relatively small number of people incorrectly think the CDC recommends these vaccines.
- 21% said the CDC recommends the MMR vaccine during pregnancy.
- 17% said the CDC recommends human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.
- 17% said the CDC recommends varicella (varicella) vaccination.
Women of childbearing age, like other women, are no more likely to misidentify these vaccines as recommended. For example, regarding the HPV vaccine, 20% of women aged 18 to 49 incorrectly say it is recommended during pregnancy, compared to 16% of other women, a difference that is not statistically significant.
The bigger issue with all three of these vaccines is that the majority of respondents said the CDC does not recommend whether they should be given during pregnancy.
“Many Americans receive routine vaccinations from their health care provider or local pharmacy, and it is important that these experts pay special attention to vaccine recommendations for pregnant recipients,” said Patrick E. Jamison, director of APPC’s Annenberg Institute for Health Risk Communication, which oversees the health study.
Research method
The data reported here is based on a survey conducted by the independent research firm SSRS for the Annenberg Center for Public Policy. The findings are from a nationally representative probability sample drawn from the SSRS Opinion Panel, which surveyed 1,031 U.S. adults from July 1-5, 2026. The margin of sampling error at the 95% confidence level is ± 3.4 percentage points. All numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number and may not add up to 100%. Due to rounding, combined subcategories may not add to the topline and text total.
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Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
