scholarly journals Jab My Arm, Not My Morality: Perceived Moral Reproach as a Barrier to COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Rosenfeld ◽  
A. Janet Tomiyama
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Moral Cognition ◽  
Total N ◽  
The Public ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Upward Social Comparison

Vaccinating the public against COVID-19 is critical for pandemic recovery, yet a large proportion of people remain unwilling to get vaccinated. Beyond known factors like perceived vaccine safety or COVID-19 risk, an overlooked sentiment contributing to vaccine hesitancy may rest in moral cognition. Specifically, we theorize that a factor fueling hesitancy is perceived moral reproach: the feeling, among unvaccinated people, that vaccinated people are judging them as immoral. Through a highly powered, preregistered study of unvaccinated U.S. adults (total N = 846), we found that greater perceived moral reproach independently predicted stronger refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, over and above other relevant variables. Of 22 predictors tested, perceived moral reproach was the fifth strongest—stronger than perceived risk of COVID-19, underlying health conditions status, and trust in scientists. These findings suggest that considering the intersections of morality and upward social comparison may help to explain vaccine hesitancy.

scholarly journals Fearing the Disease or the Vaccine: The Case of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda C. Karlsson ◽  
Anna Soveri ◽  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
Linnea Karlsson ◽  
Hasse Karlsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Disease Risks ◽  
Potential Vaccine

Objective: As COVID-19 continues to spread, researchers are working to develop a safe and effective vaccine. The success of an approved vaccine in stopping or slowing the pandemic will ultimately depend on the public’s acceptance of it. As studies indicate that people perceive COVID-19 as a threatening disease, the demand for a vaccine could be expected to be high. However, vaccine safety concerns might still outweigh the perceived disease risks in a decision to vaccinate against COVID-19. In the present paper, the role of perceived risk of COVID-19 (i.e., perceived likelihood of infection, perceived disease severity, and disease-related worry) and trust in the safety of a prospective vaccine against COVID-19 in predicting intentions to accept a COVID-19 vaccine was investigated. Methods: Three Finnish samples were surveyed: 856 parents of small children, 205 individuals living in an area with suboptimal vaccination coverage, and 1,325 Facebook users nationwide. As points of reference, we compared the perceptions of COVID-19 to those of influenza and measles. Results: COVID-19 was perceived as a threatening disease—more so than influenza and measles. The strongest predictor of COVID-19 vaccination intentions was trusting the safety of the potential vaccine. Those perceiving COVID-19 as a severe disease were also slightly more intent on taking a COVID-19 vaccine.Conclusions: If a vaccine against COVID-19 is successfully developed, assuring the public that the vaccine is safe should be the focus for health authorities aiming to achieve a high vaccine uptake.

scholarly journals Willingness to Receive the COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines among the Saudi Population and Vaccine Uptake During the Initial Stage of the National Vaccination Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 765
Author(s):  
Amel Ahmed Fayed ◽  
Abeer Salem Al Shahrani ◽  
Leenah Tawfiq Almanea ◽  
Nardeen Ibrahim Alsweed ◽  
Layla Mohammed Almarzoug ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Seasonal Influenza ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Influenza Vaccines ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
To Receive

This study aimed to assess the willingness to receive the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza vaccines and vaccine uptake during the early stage of the national vaccination campaign in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among adult Saudis between 20 January and 20 March 2021. The questionnaire addressed vaccine hesitancy, perceived risk, willingness, and vaccine uptake. Approximately 39% of the participants expressed vaccine hesitancy, and 29.8% and 24% felt highly vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, respectively. The majority (59.5%) were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, although only 31.7% were willing to receive the flu vaccine. Adjusted analysis showed that vaccine hesitancy (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.27–0.43) and the perception of being at high risk (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.68–4.60) independently affected the intention to be vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy was similar among those who were willing to be vaccinated (29.8%) and those who had already been vaccinated (33.1%). The perceived risk was significantly higher among those who had been vaccinated (48.1%) than among those who were willing to be vaccinated but had not yet been vaccinated (29.1%). In conclusion, the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia is high. Saudis who received the vaccine had a similar level of vaccine hesitancy and a higher level of perceived risk.

Increasing vaccine uptake in Sudan: Development of a web-based intervention (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majdi Sabahelzain ◽  
Rik Crutzen ◽  
Mohamed Moukhyer ◽  
Hans Bosma ◽  
Bart van den Borne
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Quality

BACKGROUND WHO described Vaccine hesitancy in 2019 as one of the top 10 threats to global health in high, and low, and middle-income countries. Various communication approaches have been used to engage the public about vaccines and immunization such as mass media and e-health strategies. With the expansion in the use of communication technologies in health in recent years, websites have increasingly been used to support vaccine acceptance and demand and thus increase vaccine uptake. We recently established a web-based intervention called the Tat3im initiative website in Sudan. It aims to increase uptake of vaccines in Sudan by increasing knowledge and addressing issues related to vaccine hesitancy and vaccine safety in the Arabic language OBJECTIVE This article describes the processes that we used to develop and improve this website including the creation of its content. METHODS These processes were informed by using and combining three sources including, Garrett’s user experience framework as a basis for the development, the WHO Vaccine Safety Net's (VSN) criteria for good information practices (i.e. credibility, content (quality and quantity), design and accessibility criteria), and previous relevant research that assessed the local context in Sudan. RESULTS We found that using such evidence as well as combining the VSN's criteria and previous research findings in the five planes of Garrett's framework enabled us to cover many essential elements of user experience and to address issues related to the website’s strategy and content. CONCLUSIONS As the website may be limited due to the high rates of illiteracy as well as relatively low internet use in Sudan, we suggest using social marketing to promote the use of the website as well as monitoring and evaluating the website and users’ experience using different approaches such as visitor traffic and qualitative measures.

scholarly journals The Behavioral Immune System and Vaccination Intentions During the Coronavirus Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda C. Karlsson ◽  
Anna Soveri ◽  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
Linnea Karlsson ◽  
Hasse Karlsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Psychological Adaptation ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
System Response ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Immune System Response ◽  
The Relationship

The behavioral immune system is considered to be a psychological adaptation that decreases the risk of infection. Research suggests that, in the current environment, this system can produce attitudes with negative health consequences, such as increased vaccine hesitancy. In three studies, we investigated whether two facets of the behavioral immune system—contamination aversion (i.e., avoiding potential contamination) and perceived infectability (i.e., perceived susceptibility to disease)—predicted intentions to accept COVID-19, influenza, and measles or general childhood vaccinations. Both contamination aversion and perceived infectability were higher during than before the pandemic. In contrast to previous research, those with higher contamination aversion during the pandemic perceived vaccines to be safer and had higher intentions to accept vaccination. Contamination aversion before the pandemic was not associated with perceived vaccine safety or vaccination intentions during the pandemic. Individuals who perceived themselves as more susceptible to diseases were slightly more willing to accept vaccination. We conjecture that high disease threat reverses the relationship between the behavioral immune system response and vaccination. As the associations were weak, individual differences in contamination aversion and perceived infectability are of little practical relevance for vaccine uptake.

scholarly journals Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Willingness among Health Care Workers: A Quick Online Survey in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 445-452
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar ◽  
Kalpana Beniwal ◽  
Yogesh Bahurupi ◽  
Ravi Kant ◽  
Mukesh Bairwa
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Care Workers

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a large number of deaths along with severe socio-economic effects. The vaccine is considered to be the last hope to control viral transmission. This study aimed to explore the determinants of health care workers’ (HCWs) willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccination.Methods: A structured, pre-validated, and pre-tested questionnaire was administered online to 599 HCWs including physicians, residents, and nurses from different types of healthcare set-ups across India. Information was collected regarding vaccine acceptability, attitude toward vaccination, and reasons for hesitancy. The chi-square test, followed by multinomial regression analysis, was applied to determine the factors associated with HCWs’ vaccination willingness.Results: It was found that 73 % (n=437) of HCWs were willing to accept the vaccines, while 10.85% (n=65) refused and 16.2% (n=96) needed more time to decide. Gender (P<0.001), occupation (P=0.040), working as front-line workers (P=0.008), vaccine manufacturing country preferences (P<0.001), and perceived risk of catching COVID-19 in the next 6 months (P=0.005) had a significant association with intent to receive vaccination (the response were “yes” vs. “no” and “not sure”). The reasons for vaccine hesitancy were vaccine safety and efficacy concerns, antivaccine attitude and beliefs, personal choice, and not wanting to take a vaccine before others.Conclusion: The majority of HCWs agreed to take COVID-19 vaccines once available. Nevertheless, providing support to manage evolving vaccine environments will help change the perception of HCWs who refuse or are reluctant to take the vaccines.

scholarly journals Myths Surrounding Covid-19 Vaccine Candidates: A Guide to Fight Back

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Zizzo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Protective Measure ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Vaccine Candidates ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Public Health Officials

The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled public health officials into the socio-political sphere due to the need for constantly updated information on behalf of the public. However, many individuals choose to acquire health information/guidance from indirect sources, including social media, news organizations, and general word of mouth. As a result, myths and false narratives about various essential health topics, including vaccine characteristics and protective measures, can circulate un-verified between millions of individuals with little recourse. These can further widen the “gap” between public knowledge and current research, resulting in lower vaccine uptake (vaccine hesitancy) and protective measure adherence. Such actions have profound implications as nations attempt to achieve herd immunity and end the pandemic once and for all. Thus, it is vital that public health officials, health providers, researchers, and the general public be able to differentiate common Covid-19 myths from facts and be prepared to approach such interactions via sound reasoning and research-based evidence. This chapter will serve as a guide to accomplish just that.

scholarly journals Willingness, beliefs, and barriers regarding the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia: a multiregional cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noura Altulahi ◽  
Shouq AlNujaim ◽  
Azzam Alabdulqader ◽  
Abdullah Alkharashi ◽  
Assaf AlMalki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
High School Degree ◽  
Validated Questionnaire

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, and the vaccine remains the ultimate cornerstone to overcoming its long-term impact. Vaccine hesitancy might obstruct the effort to achieve herd immunity and eradicate the virus. We assessed Saudi Arabian individuals’ willingness, beliefs, and barriers regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and their adherence to preventive measures during and after the pandemic. Methods A self-administered electronic validated questionnaire was distributed among the five major regions in Saudi Arabia between November and December 2020. The questionnaire addressed the sociodemographic data, beliefs, potential barriers, parents’ acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination for their children, and adherence to protective measures during and after the pandemic. Results Of 8,056 participants, 4,218 (52.4%) of a non-representative sample were willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Being a young adult, male, having less than a high school degree, being a smoker, having a chronic disease, and having a history of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake were positive predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Hesitant participants reported concerns about vaccine side effects and safety as the main barriers to accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Some refusers (26.1%) declared that they would reconsider vaccination only if the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine were reported by more studies. Conclusions Our study revealed a promising willingness to accept the vaccine among the population, with positive beliefs and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. However, a considerable proportion of the population was reluctant to accept the vaccine. Thus, publicly providing information about vaccine safety and implementing health education programs is crucial for increasing the public’s confidence in the vaccine.

scholarly journals A machine learning approach to identify psychological factors driving vaccine hesitancy in high income countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Lincoln ◽  
Björn Schlier ◽  
Felix Strakeljahn ◽  
Brandon Gaudiano ◽  
Suzanne So ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Abstract Understanding factors driving vaccine hesitancy is crucial to vaccination success. We surveyed adults (N=2510) from February to March 2021 across five sites (Australia=502, Germany=516, Hong Kong=445, UK=512, USA=535) using a cross-sectional design and stratified quota sampling for age, sex, and education. We assessed willingness to take a vaccine and a comprehensive set of putative predictors. Predictive power was analysed with regression analyses and machine learning algorithms. Only 57.4% of the participants indicated that they would definitely or probably get vaccinated. A parsimonious machine-learning model could identify vaccine hesitancy with high accuracy (i.e. 83% sensitivity and 82% specificity) using 10 variables only. The most relevant predictors were vaccination conspiracy beliefs, paranoid concerns related to the pandemic, COVID anxiety, high perceived risk of infection, low perceived social rank, lower age, and female gender. Campaigns seeking to increase vaccine uptake need to take mistrust as the main driver of vaccine hesitancy into account.

scholarly journals Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and vaccine uptake in a national cohort of U.S. adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhura S Rane ◽  
Shivani Kochhar ◽  
Emily Poehlein ◽  
William You ◽  
McKaylee Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Lower Odds ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Longitudinal Study ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
National Cohort ◽  
The U.S

Background Vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. may limit the potential to alleviate the public health threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We estimated trends in and correlates of vaccine hesitancy, and its association with subsequent vaccine uptake among 5,085 United States adults from the CHASING COVID Cohort study, a national longitudinal study. Trends in willingness to vaccinate were examined longitudinally in three rounds of interviews from September to December 2020. We assessed correlates of willingness to vaccinate in December 2020. We also estimated the association between willingness to vaccinate in December 2020 and subsequent vaccine uptake in February 2021. Results Vaccine hesitancy and resistance decreased from 51% and 8% in September 2020 to 35% and 5% in December 2020, respectively. Compared to Non-Hispanic (NH) White participants, NH Black and Hispanic participants had higher adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for both vaccine hesitancy (aOR: 3.3 [95% CI: 2.6, 4.2] for NH Black and 1.8 [95% CI: 1.5, 2.2] for Hispanic) and vaccine resistance (aOR: 6.4 [95% CI: 4.3, 9.4] for NH Black and 1.9 [95% CI: 1.3, 2.7] for Hispanic). Willingness to vaccinate was associated with lower odds of vaccine uptake among 65+ year olds (aOR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3, 0.6 for hesitancy; aOR: 0.1, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.6 for resistance) and healthcare workers (aOR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.3 for hesitancy; aOR: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.006, 0.2 for resistance). Conclusions Awareness and distribution efforts should focus on vaccine hesitant vulnerable populations.

scholarly journals Attitude, Familiarity and Religious Beliefs about Vaccination among Health Science and Non-Health Science Students in a Malaysian Public University

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1462-1473
Author(s):  
Ramdan M. Elkalmi ◽  
Eman Dyab ◽  
Azyyati Mohd Suhaimi ◽  
Ali Qais Blebil ◽  
Mohamed Hassan Elnaem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Attitude Score ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Public ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Mean

Vaccine hesitancy has surfaced globally within the last few decades, and the fears and misconceptions of people about vaccine safety and effectiveness have been identified as key factors for their under-utilization. The familiarity, attitudes, and religious beliefs of the public and of future healthcare practitioners regarding vaccination are extensive areas needing exploration. The present exploratory cross-sectional study was designed, planned and carried out on students enrolled in health science and non-health science courses in one of the public universities of Malaysia. A research instrument that had been formulated, validated and subjected to reliability testing was used to collect the data, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A response rate of 80.8% (n = 202) was obtained: the majority were female (n = 161, 79.7%), and had been vaccinated before (n = 190, 97.5%), while a mere 2% did not support vaccination for reasons pertaining to safety issues. The vaccine familiarity score was 10.79 ± 1.4, which significantly differed among the study disciplines (p < 0.001). The mean of the total attitude score was 14.95 ± 1.5, with no significant difference among demographics being noted. The mean of the total religious beliefs score was 24.29 ± 2.8 and significantly differed based on gender (p = 0.040) and study disciplines (p < 0.001). The current findings showed that the participants were familiar with vaccines and had generally positive attitudes and positive religious beliefs toward vaccination; thus, one can expect that their inclusion in immunization campaigns will generate positive outcomes of the immunization program. Although the current research reported few knowledge gaps, these may be handled with the introduction of a specialized immunization course at an undergraduate level.

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