scholarly journals Psychological factors underpinning vaccine willingness in Israel, Japan and Hungary

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Goodwin ◽  
Menachem Ben-Ezra ◽  
Masahito Takahashi ◽  
Lan-Anh Nguyen Luu ◽  
Krisztina Borsfay ◽  
...  

AbstractThe spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to rapid vaccine development. However, there remains considerable vaccine hesitancy in some countries. We investigate vaccine willingness in three nations with very different vaccine histories: Israel, Japan and Hungary. Employing an ecological-systems approach we analyse associations between health status, individual cognitions, norms, trust in government, COVID-19 myths and willingness to be vaccinated, with data from three nationally representative samples (Israel, Jan. 2021, N = 1011; Japan, Feb. 2021, N = 997; Hungary, April 2021, N = 1130). Vaccine willingness was higher in Israel (74%) than Japan (51%) or Hungary (31%). In all three countries vaccine willingness was greatest amongst who would regret not being vaccinated and respondents who trusted their government. Multi-group latent class analysis identified three groups of COVID myths, with particular concern about alteration of DNA (Israel), allergies (Hungary) and infection from the vaccine (Japan). Intervention campaigns should address such cultural myths while emphasising both individual and social benefits of vaccination.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Goodwin ◽  
Menachem Ben-Ezra ◽  
Masahito Takahashi ◽  
Lan Anh Nguyen Luu ◽  
Krisztina Borsfay ◽  
...  

The rapid international spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus 19 led to unprecedented attempts to develop and administer an effective vaccine. However, there is evidence of considerable vaccine hesitancy in some countries and sub-populations. We investigated willingness to vaccinate in three nations with historically different levels of vaccine willingness and attitudes to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout: Israel, Japan and Hungary. Employing an ecological-systems approach we analysed associations between demographic factors and health status, individual cognitions, normative pressures, trust in government, belief in COVID-19 myths and willingness to be vaccinated, using data from three nationally representative samples (Israel, N=1011 (Jan 2021); Japan, N= 997 (Feb 2021); Hungary, N=1131 (Apr 2021)). In Israel 74% indicated a willingness to vaccinate, but only 51% in Japan and 31% in Hungary. Results from multigroup regression analyses indicated greater vaccine willingness amongst those who perceived benefits to vaccination, anticipated regret if not vaccinated and trusted the government. Multi-group latent class analysis of ten COVID-19 (mis)beliefs identified three classes of myths, with concerns about the alteration of DNA (Israel), allergies (Hungary) and catching COVID-19 from the vaccine (Japan) specific to vaccine willingness for each culture. Rather than focusing primarily on disease threats, intervention campaigns should focus on increasing trust and addressing culturally specific myths while emphasising the individual and social group benefits of vaccination.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Aresi ◽  
Angela Sorgente ◽  
Michael J. Cleveland ◽  
Elena Marta

Introduction: Two not mutually exclusive theories have been proposed to explain the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol use: The Availability hypothesis contends that reduced opportunities to drink due to the closure of outlets and consumption sites should lead to decreases in alcohol use, whereas the Stress and Coping hypothesis argues that those exposed to stressful situations may increase drinking. Aims: This study aimed to test such hypotheses by describing pre/during-COVID-19-pandemic changes in patterns of alcohol use among the Italian young adults (18–34 years).Methods: This study involves the secondary analysis of data collected in 2015 and 2020 from nationally representative samples of Italian young adults. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify common patterns of alcohol use.Results: Five classes were found: current non-drinker class (CND), weekend risky (WRD) and weekend non-risky drinkers (WnRD), daily non-risky (DnRD) and daily risky drinkers (DRD). Results indicate gender-specific changes in the prevalence of the five drinker profiles from 2015 to 2020.Conclusions: In support to the Availability hypothesis, increases in abstaining women and men were observed, however among men there were also increases in the prevalence of patterns characterized by risky drinking and related harm (Stress and Coping hypothesis).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Jennings ◽  
Gerry Stoker ◽  
Hannah Willis ◽  
Viktor Valgardsson ◽  
Jen Gaskell ◽  
...  

AbstractAs COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out across the world, there are growing concerns about the role that trust, belief in conspiracy theories and spread of misinformation through social media impact vaccine hesitancy. We use a nationally representative survey of 1,476 adults in the UK between December 12 to 18, 2020 and five focus groups conducted in the same period. Trust is a core predictor, with distrust in vaccines in general and mistrust in government raising vaccine hesitancy. Trust in health institutions and experts and perceived personal threat are vital, with focus groups revealing that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is driven by a misunderstanding of herd immunity as providing protection, fear of rapid vaccine development and side effects, belief the virus is man- made and related to population control. Particularly those who obtain information from relatively unregulated social media sources such as YouTube that have recommendations tailored by watch history are less likely to be willing to become vaccinated. Those who hold general conspiratorial beliefs are less willing to be vaccinated. Since an increasing number of individuals use social media for gathering health information, interventions require action from governments, health officials and social media companies. More attention needs to help people understand their own risks, unpack complex concepts and fill knowledge voids.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 593
Author(s):  
Will Jennings ◽  
Gerry Stoker ◽  
Hannah Bunting ◽  
Viktor Orri Valgarðsson ◽  
Jennifer Gaskell ◽  
...  

As COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out across the world, there are growing concerns about the roles that trust, belief in conspiracy theories, and spread of misinformation through social media play in impacting vaccine hesitancy. We use a nationally representative survey of 1476 adults in the UK between 12 and 18 December 2020, along with 5 focus groups conducted during the same period. Trust is a core predictor, with distrust in vaccines in general and mistrust in government raising vaccine hesitancy. Trust in health institutions and experts and perceived personal threat are vital, with focus groups revealing that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is driven by a misunderstanding of herd immunity as providing protection, fear of rapid vaccine development and side effects, and beliefs that the virus is man-made and used for population control. In particular, those who obtain information from relatively unregulated social media sources—such as YouTube—that have recommendations tailored by watch history, and who hold general conspiratorial beliefs, are less willing to be vaccinated. Since an increasing number of individuals use social media for gathering health information, interventions require action from governments, health officials, and social media companies. More attention needs to be devoted to helping people understand their own risks, unpacking complex concepts, and filling knowledge voids.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Sophie Hacquin ◽  
Sacha Altay ◽  
Emma de Araujo ◽  
Coralie Chevallier ◽  
Hugo Mercier

A safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is our only hope to decisively stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. But a vaccine will only be fully effective if a significant share of the population agrees to get it. Five consecutive surveys of a large, nationally representative sample (N = 1000 for each wave) surveyed attitudes towards a future COVID-19 vaccine in France from May 2020 to October 2020. We found that COVID-19 vaccine refusal has steadily increased, reaching an all-time high with only 23% of participants willing to probably or certainly take a future COVID-19 vaccine in September 2020. Vaccine hesitant individuals are more likely to be women, young, less educated, to vote at the political extremes, to be dissatisfied with the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, and to feel less at risk of COVID-19. The reasons why French people would refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine are similar to those offered for other vaccines, and these reasons are strikingly stable across gender, age and educational level. Finally, most French people declare they would not take the vaccine as soon as possible but would instead rather wait or not take it at all.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089011712110340
Author(s):  
Bhagyashree Katare ◽  
Shuoli Zhao ◽  
Joel Cuffey ◽  
Maria I. Marshall ◽  
Corinne Valdivia

Purpose: Describe preferences toward COVID-19 testing features (method, location, hypothetical monetary incentive) and simulate the effect of monetary incentives on willingness to test. Design: Online cross-sectional survey administered in July 2020. Subjects: 1,505 nationally representative U.S. respondents. Measures: Choice of preferred COVID-19 testing options in discrete choice experiment. Options differed by method (nasal-swab, saliva), location (hospital/clinic, drive-through, at-home), and monetary incentive ($0, $10, $20). Analysis: Latent class conditional logit model to classify preferences, mixed logit model to simulate incentive effectiveness. Results: Preferences were categorized into 4 groups: 34% (n = 517) considered testing comfort (saliva versus nasal swab) most important, 27% (n = 408) were willing to trade comfort for monetary incentives, 19% (n = 287) would only test at convenient locations, 20% (n = 293) avoided testing altogether. Relative to no monetary incentives, incentives of $100 increased the percent of testing avoiders (16%) and convenience seekers (70%) that were willing to test. Conclusion: Preferences toward different COVID-19 testing features vary, highlighting the need to match testing features with individuals to monitor the spread of COVID-19.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
Patricia Soares ◽  
João Victor Rocha ◽  
Marta Moniz ◽  
Ana Gama ◽  
Pedro Almeida Laires ◽  
...  

It is critical to develop tailored strategies to increase acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine and decrease hesitancy. Hence, this study aims to assess and identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Portugal. We used data from a community-based survey, “COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion”, which includes data regarding intention to take COVID-19 vaccines, health status, and risk perception in Portugal from September 2020 to January 2021. We used multinomial regression to identify factors associated with intention to delay or refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Portugal was high: 56% would wait and 9% refuse. Several factors were associated with both refusal and delay: being younger, loss of income during the pandemic, no intention of taking the flu vaccine, low confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine and the health service response during the pandemic, worse perception of government measures, perception of the information provided as inconsistent and contradictory, and answering the questionnaire before the release of information regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. It is crucial to build confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine as its perceived safety and efficacy were strongly associated with intention to take the vaccine. Governments and health authorities should improve communication and increase trust.


Author(s):  
Seth C Kalichman ◽  
Lisa A Eaton ◽  
Valerie A Earnshaw ◽  
Natalie Brousseau

Abstract Background The unprecedented rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has faced SARS-CoV- (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy, which is partially fueled by the misinformation and conspiracy theories propagated by anti-vaccine groups on social media. Research is needed to better understand the early COVID-19 anti-vaccine activities on social media. Methods This study chronicles the social media posts concerning COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines by leading anti-vaccine groups (Dr Tenpenny on Vaccines, the National Vaccine Information Center [NVIC] the Vaccination Information Network [VINE]) and Vaccine Machine in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (February–May 2020). Results Analysis of 2060 Facebook posts showed that anti-vaccine groups were discussing COVID-19 in the first week of February 2020 and were specifically discussing COVID-19 vaccines by mid-February 2020. COVID-19 posts by NVIC were more widely disseminated and showed greater influence than non-COVID-19 posts. Early COVID-19 posts concerned mistrust of vaccine safety and conspiracy theories. Conclusion Major anti-vaccine groups were sowing seeds of doubt on Facebook weeks before the US government launched its vaccine development program ‘Operation Warp Speed’. Early anti-vaccine misinformation campaigns outpaced public health messaging and hampered the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.


Author(s):  
Şerif Bora Nazlı ◽  
Fatih Yığman ◽  
Muhammet Sevindik ◽  
Deniz Deniz Özturan

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document