Who Got Vaccinated for COVID-19? Evidence from Japan

Vaccination has been critical to reducing infections and deaths during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While previous studies have investigated attitudes toward taking a vaccine, studies on the determinants of COVID-19 vaccination behavior are scant. We examine what characteristics, including socioeconomic and non-economic factors, are associated with vaccination behavior for COVID-19 in Japan. We use a large nationwide online survey with approximately 10,000 participants. As of September 2021, 85% of the respondents said that they had received or would receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Employing logistic regression analysis on vaccination behavior, we found that vaccination rates are higher among those who are older, married, educated, and/or work in a large company. On the other hand, vaccination rates tend to be lower among the self-employed, younger women, and those with poor mental health. Income did not significantly correlate with vaccination. Medical workers were found to have a relatively high rate of vaccination. Although attitude towards risk and time preference were not crucial factors for vaccination, fear of infection, infection prevention behavior, and agreement with government policies on behavioral restrictions in crisis situations positively correlated with vaccination.

Understanding Drivers of Vaccine Hesitancy among Pregnant Women in Nigeria: A Longitudinal Study

Background: Vaccine-preventable diseases are major contributors to the disease burden in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for many childhood illnesses, disabilities, and mortality. There is dearth of knowledge on the drivers of vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria and the extent of its impact on coverage. Pregnant women are a particularly important vulnerable and at-risk group and, additionally, very relevant for childhood vaccination decisions. However, this group is understudied in Nigeria. This study’s aims are to adapt Confidence, Complacency, Constraints, Calculation, and Collective Responsibility, also known as the 5C psychological antecedence scale for the Nigerian context and to measure vaccine hesitancy to predict the intention to vaccinate among pregnant women (prenatal) and subsequent vaccination behavior (postnatal). Method: It is a longitudinal study that used multi-stage sampling procedure. One healthcare facility was selected from each district in five regional clusters, from which 255 pregnant women were randomly drawn. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic characteristics, sources of vaccination information, and the 5C psychological antecedents of vaccination. Additional variables tested included the importance of religion, masculinity, and rumor/conspiracy theory. The scale’s reliability was explored, and a backward elimination regression analysis was performed to identify the major determinants of childhood vaccination intention among pregnant women (T1) and their postnatal behavior (T2). Results: The prenatal (T1) findings revealed low reliability of the 5C subscales in Nigeria’s setting. Pregnant women’s intention to vaccinate unborn children was lower if they were Muslims, had lower confidence in public authorities or the health system, if husband approval was important for vaccination, and if they believed in rumor. Postnatal (T2) findings revealed that vaccination was more likely to follow mothers’ religious beliefs, when confidence in vaccine effectiveness was high and when mothers felt responsible for the collective. However, higher levels of everyday stress (constraints) were related to less vaccination behavior, and intention did not predict actual vaccination behavior. Conclusion: The 5C scale is incompletely adaptable in Nigeria but is a better tool for measuring vaccination behavior than intention. Overall, the vaccination intention did not predict behavior among pregnant women. The additional variables are good instruments that need further exploration.

Subjective Health Status: An Easily Available, Independent, Robust And Significant Predictive Factor At The Prometaphase of Vaccination Programs For The Vaccination Behavior of Chinese Adults

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed COVID-19 vaccination as an emergent and important method to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Since China started vaccination programs in December 2020, vaccination has spread to provinces and municipalities nationwide. Previous research has focused on people's vaccination willingness and its influencing factors but has not examined vaccination behavior. We examine the effectiveness of psychosocial factors in predicting vaccination behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was performed among Chinese adults on 8 May and 4 June 2021. The statistical analysis of the data included univariate analysis, receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analysis and ordinal multiclassification logistic regression model analysis. Results: Of the 1300 respondents, 761 (58.5%) were vaccinated. Univariate analysis showed that a high education level and good subjective health status were protective factors for vaccination behavior, while suffering from chronic diseases was a risk factor. ROC analysis showed that subjective health status (AUC = 0.625, 95% CI: 0.594–0.656, P < 0.001) was the best predictor of vaccination behavior. Logistic regression analysis with subjective health status as a dependent variable indicated that older age, female sex, depression, neurasthenia, obsession, hypochondriasis and chronic disease were significant risk factors, while positive coping tendencies were a significant protective factor. Conclusion: Our study found a simple and effective marker, subjective health status, that can predict vaccination behavior. This finding can guide future epidemic prevention work.

COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior of People Living with HIV: The Mediating Role of Perceived Risk and Vaccination Intention

The COVID-19 vaccination behavior of people living with HIV (PLWH) was examined via a cross-sectional web-based survey of PLWH aged 18 years and older. The survey was conducted from l May to 20 June 2021. The survey included social demographic information; vaccination behavior (B); and questions related to perceived usefulness (PU), perceived risk (PR), subjective norms (SNs), perceived behavior control (PBC), and behavior intention (BI). The associations between the questionnaire variables and COVID-19 vaccination behavior were assessed by calculating the descriptive data, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling. In total, 43.71% of the 350 eligible respondents had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The differences in COVID-19 vaccination behavior according to age, gender, religious belief, marital status, income, education level, and occupation were not obvious (p > 0.05). PU had a significantly negative effect on PR (p < 0.05). PR had a significantly negative effect on BI (p < 0.05). SNs had a significantly positive effect on BI (p < 0.05). BI had a significantly positive effect on B (p < 0.05). PR fully mediated the effects of PU on BI, BI fully mediated the effects of PR on B, and BI fully mediated the effects of SNs on B (p < 0.05). Health policymakers and medical workers should provide more information about the risks of vaccine application to improve the vaccination behavior of PLWH.

Shared Determinants for Human Papillomavirus and COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: An Opportunity for Resource Consolidation

Purpose This study aimed at targeting shared factors that influence the prevention of multiple diseases, which can help address various health problems simultaneously. We identified correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination that overlap with COVID-19 vaccination. Design Cross-sectional survey data. Setting Online Qualtrics recruitment panel. Subject Religious parents of 342 adolescents who were unvaccinated for HPV (response rate was 68.1%). Measures Outcome variables were COVID-19 vaccination intention for (1) self, (2) child, and (3) HPV vaccination intention for child. Independent variables were psychological factors. Covariates were sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. Analysis We conducted multivariate linear regressions on each outcome variable after controlling for covariates. Result Some psychological correlates of HPV overlapped as protective factors for all three outcomes. Higher perceived vulnerability of child to HPV was associated with higher vaccination intention against COVID-19 for self (β = .37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .25–.48), child (β = .32, .21–.44), and HPV for child (β = .38, .27–.49). Higher perceived response efficacy of HPV vaccine was associated with greater vaccination intention against COVID-19 for self (β = .46, .33–.59), child (β = .41, .28–.53), and HPV for child (β = .75, .64–.85). Conclusion Given the overlap in HPV and COVID-19 vaccination correlates, interventions should target shared factors that address both diseases to maximize public health efforts. A major limitation of this study is the inability to measure the actual vaccination behavior.