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Public Attitudes Towards Vaccination

 Factors that Influence the Willingness to Vaccinate
       As of June 1, 2021, about 135 million Americans have been fully vaccinated according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, despite the increasing availability of vaccines, over half of the United States' population (59%) is not fully vaccinated. While some have just not yet gotten the chance to be vaccinated, others are hesitant or even opposed to vaccination. Unfortunately, public vaccine hesitancy could slow down society's return to normalcy and negatively impact COVID-19 infection rates. So why are people hesitant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine? What factors could persuade or discourage someone from getting vaccinated? A recent study published in the Nature Public Journal (npj) Vaccines, investigated how vaccine type, vaccine efficacy, and other factors can impact the public's willingness to be vaccinated. 

About the Study

    The study was conducted from October 29-30, 2020. A total of 1096 American adults were surveyed via the Lucid platform, which uses sampling to match study participants to demographics of the U.S. population on age, gender, ethnicity, and geographic region. Of the participants, 51% were female, 75% were white, and the median age was 43 years. Every participant was randomly given a hypothetical vaccine and asked how likely they would be to take the vaccine on a 7-point scale. Each hypothetical vaccine had varying efficacies, incidence of minor side effects, government approval processes, manufacturers, and costs.

Study Results

    Overall, 58% of participants said they would choose their hypothetical vaccine rather than not get vaccinated. However, several factors significantly influenced willingness to vaccinate, the largest being vaccine efficacy. Vaccines with an efficacy rate of 90%, such as Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, increased willingness to vaccinate by 20% relative to a 50% efficacy rate. Meanwhile, a 70% efficacy rate increased public willingness to vaccinate by 13%. A high incidence of minor side effects only decreased willingness to vaccinate by 5%. The type of approval given by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also significantly influenced willingness to be vaccinated. Vaccines with Emergency Use Authorization as opposed to full FDA authorization decreased the willingness to vaccinate by 7%. While 7% may not seem like a notable decrease, this translates to 23 million Americans choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, all three of the approved vaccines in the U.S., (Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson), are under FDA Emergency Use Authorization. The study also investigated the effect of cost towards vaccination attitudes and found that a $20 copayment decreased willingness to vaccinate by 5% compared to free vaccinations. However, financial incentives of up to $100 did not increase the willingness to vaccinate. Finally, the manufacturer of the vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, and AstraZeneca) did not influence vaccination attitudes. 

    
    Increased belief in misinformation was not associated with willingness to vaccinate. The misinformation used in the study focused on treatments, such as the myth that hand dryers are effective in killing the coronavirus. On the other hand, strong beliefs that a vaccine was safe positively influenced vaccination attitudes. Overall, women and older individuals were more likely to report vaccination hesitancy compared to men and younger individuals. Education positively correlated with willingness to vaccinate. 

Implications

 The findings suggest that vaccine efficacy greatly increases an American adults' willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Not having to pay for a vaccination and low incidence of minor side effects also positively impacts willingness to receive a vaccination. Thus, in order to increase vaccination rates in the U.S., it should be emphasized that COVID-19 vaccines not only have a high efficacy, but are also free and generally have mild side effects. As more people get vaccinated, COVID-19 case rates will go down and things will begin returning to normal. More importantly, by receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, you are not only protecting yourself from the virus, but also friends, family, and those at high-risk. 

Sources

1. Kreps, Sarah, et al. “Public Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination: The Role of Vaccine Attributes, Incentives, and Misinformation.” Npj Vaccines, vol. 6, no. 1, 2021, doi:10.1038/s41541-021-00335-2.

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