A global survey of potential acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine

Abstract

Several coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are currently in human trials. In June 2020, we surveyed 13,426 people in 19 countries to determine potential acceptance rates and factors influencing acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 71.5% of participants reported that they would be very or somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine, and 61.4% reported that they would accept their employer's recommendation to do so. Differences in acceptance rates ranged from almost 90% (in China) to less than 55% (in Russia). Respondents reporting higher levels of trust in information from government sources were more likely to accept a vaccine and take their employer's advice to do so. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue to impose enormous burdens of morbidity and mortality while severely disrupting societies and economies worldwide. Governments must be ready to ensure large-scale, equitable access and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine if and when a safe and effective one becomes available. This will require sufficient health system capacity, as well as strategies to enhance trust in and acceptance of the vaccine and those who deliver it. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization defined vaccine hesitancy as a ' delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services' 1 , which can vary in form and intensity based on when and where it occurs and what vaccine is involved, as has been confirmed in multiple studies 2,3. Concern about vaccine hesitancy is growing worldwide 4 ; in fact, WHO identified it as one of the top ten global health threats in 2019 (https://www.who. int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019). In many countries, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation present substantial obstacles to achieving coverage and community immunity 5,6. Governments, public health officials and advocacy groups must be prepared to address hesitancy and build vaccine literacy so that the public will accept immunization when appropriate. Anti-vaccination activists are already campaigning in multiple countries against the need for a vaccine, with some denying the existence of COVID-19 altogether 7. Misinformation spread through multiple channels could have a considerable effect on the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine 8. The accelerated pace of vaccine development has further heightened public anxieties and could compromise acceptance 9. Governments and societies must gauge current levels of willingness to receive a potentially safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and identify correlates of vaccine hesitancy and/or acceptance. We present findings from a survey of the likelihood of vaccine acceptance from a sample of 13,426 respondents in 19 countries.

Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across time and countries

“…The higher reluctance from women to say that they would take a vaccine is in line with other work focusing on acceptance of a potential COVID-19 vaccine 14,15 , and vaccination generally 22 Another important finding highlighted by our repeated samples is that vaccine acceptance appears to be politicized in the US and is becoming so in the UK. Our US results agree with previous US research focusing on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance 32,47 , which noted that political conservatives are less accepting of potential COVID-19 vaccines.…”

COVID-19: Rethinking the Lockdown Groupthink

“…52 In response to the 2009 pandemic of H1N1 Influenza the United States achieved a weekly vaccination rate of only 1% of the population. 72 Vaccine refusers may include 30% of the population in North America and globally, 72,75 and if they have "increased contact rates relative to the rest of the population, vaccination alone may not be able to prevent an outbreak." 72 There is already competition among high income countries, and likely crowding out of low-income countries that represent about half of the human population.…”

Willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the US: Longitudinal evidence from a nationally representative sample of adults from April–October 2020

“…During the early stages of the pandemic (March-June), studies of small samples of European and Australian adults suggested that the majority of people surveyed reported that they would be vaccinated when a widely available vaccine was available [6][7] . Similarly, a nationally representative study of adults in China conducted in March found that 9 out of 10 would accept a vaccine when available 8 .…”