A recent study found that vaccine mandates had no influence on COVID-19 vaccine uptake but did reduce voluntary vaccinations.

Some U.S. states mandated COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic to increase vaccination numbers. Yet recent research shows these governmental restrictions had unintended negative consequences and no influence on COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

A study in PNAS found that state-level COVID-19 vaccine mandates did not impact vaccine adoption during the weeks before or after the mandates went into effect, suggesting vaccine mandates did not directly affect COVID-19 vaccination.

Additionally, compared to states that banned vaccine mandates through legislation, states that required COVID-19 vaccination experienced lower levels of subsequent boosters and reduced rates of voluntary flu vaccinations.