Background Vaccine hesitancy is increasing. We assessed attitudes toward influenza and COVID-19 vaccines and the relation between hesitancy to influenza vaccine and hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines. Methods A structured questionnaire administered during September 2020 to a representative sample of the Jewish Israeli population assessed attitudes and acceptance of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. Factors for vaccine hesitancy were determined using logistic regression. Questionnaires were administered prior to the release of clinical data regarding efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines and prior to vaccine rollout. Results We approached 10,625 people, of these 2,080 responded (19%), and 2,024 completed the questionnaire (97.3%), 64.9% aged 15–64 years and 35.1% aged ≥65 years. 37% had co-morbidities. 43.5% experienced financial deterioration due to the pandemic. 65.9% received influenza vaccine ≥1 time in the past. Influenza vaccination rates were higher in the elderly (81.8%). Reasons for influenza vaccine hesitancy were opinions that the vaccine is ineffective (27.1%), and fear of side effects (29.3%). 8.2% of people aged 16–64 and 13.8% of people aged≥65 refused to be vaccinated at least once over the course of one’s lifetime. Percent of responders willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine were higher than percent of responders willing to receive the influenza vaccine both in people aged 16–64 years (942 (72.3%) vs. 38.4%, respectively) and in people 65 years and older (84.0% vs. 76.8%, respectively). Hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccine was associated with hesitancy towards other vaccines. Only 26.8% would participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial. Conclusions Willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine was higher than willingness to receive influenza vaccine. The results point to areas of fear from influenza vaccines side effects and lack of knowledge regarding influenza vaccines effectiveness that can be addressed to increase acceptance. Hesitancy towards other vaccines was associated with hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccination.

Surfaces of correlated electron oxides are of significant interest from both fundamental and applied perspectives. Many such oxides feature a near-surface region (NSR) that differs from the bulk's properties. The NSR can significantly affect the interpretation of the material's electronic structure, especially for those in thin film form, and have detrimental effects for applications such as field effect devices and catalysts. In this work, we study the changes in the composition and the electronic structure of the NSR of SrVO 3 (SVO) thin films. We employ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and compare TiO x -capped SVO films to identical uncapped films that were exposed to ambient conditions. The significant overoxidation of the SVO surface in the bare film, illustrated by a primary V 5+ component, is prevented by the TiO x layer in the capped film. The capped film further exhibits a decrease in Sr surface phases. These results demonstrate the importance and potential of such capping layers in preserving the bulk properties of correlated oxides in their NSR, enabling more accurate probes for their underlying physics and offering a route for their integration into devices.

In Mott materials strong electron correlation yields a spectrum of complex electronic structures. Recent synthesis advancements open realistic opportunities for harnessing Mott physics to design transformative devices. However, a major bottleneck in realizing such devices remains the lack of control over the electron correlation strength. This stems from the complexity of the electronic structure, which often veils the basic mechanisms underlying the correlation strength. This study presents control of the correlation strength by tuning the degree of orbital overlap using picometer‐scale lattice engineering. This study illustrates how bandwidth control and concurrent symmetry breaking can govern the electronic structure of a correlated SrVO3 model system. This study shows how tensile and compressive biaxial strain oppositely affect the SrVO3 in‐plane and out‐of‐plane orbital occupancy, resulting in the partial alleviation of the orbital degeneracy. The spectral weight redistribution under strain is derived and explained, which illustrates how high tensile strain drives the system toward a Mott insulating state. Implementation of such concepts can push correlated electron phenomena closer toward new solid‐state devices and circuits. These findings therefore pave the way for understanding and controlling electron correlation in a broad range of functional materials, driving this powerful resource for novel electronics closer toward practical realization.

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