Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Abstract

Background: Faced with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been progressing at an unprecedented rate. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in China and give suggestions for vaccination strategies and immunization programs accordingly. Methods: In March 2020, an anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted online among Chinese adults. The questionnaire collected socio-demographic characteristics, risk perception, the impact of COVID-19, attitudes, acceptance and attribute preferences of vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the influencing factors of vaccination acceptance. Results: Of the 2058 participants surveyed, 1879 (91.3%) stated that they would accept COVID-19 vaccination after the vaccine becomes available, among whom 980 (52.2%) wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible, while others (47.8%) would delay the vaccination until the vaccine’s safety was confirmed. Participants preferred a routine immunization schedule (49.4%) to emergency vaccination (9.0%) or either of them (41.6%). Logistic regression showed that being male, being married, perceiving a high risk of infection, being vaccinated against influenza in the past season, believing in the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination or valuing doctor’s recommendations could increase the probability of accepting COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible, while having confirmed or suspected cases in local areas, valuing vaccination convenience or vaccine price in decision-making could hinder participants from immediate vaccination. Conclusion: During the pandemic period, a strong demand for and high acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination has been shown among the Chinese population, while concerns about vaccine safety may hinder the promotion of vaccine uptake. To expand vaccination coverage, immunization programs should be designed to remove barriers in terms of vaccine price and vaccination convenience, and health education and communication from authoritative sources are important ways to alleviate public concerns about vaccine safety.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy worldwide: a systematic review of vaccine acceptance rates

“…First, in East and South East Asia, the overall acceptance rates among the general public were relatively high. This includes more than 90% acceptance rates in Indonesia, Malaysia and one study from China [32,33,40].…”

Confidence and Receptivity for COVID-19 Vaccines: A Rapid Systematic Review

“…Regionally, acceptance ranged from 38% in the Northeast to 49% in the West [28]. Internationally, some Asian countries had higher acceptance: 88.6-91.3% in China and 79.8% in South Korea-both also reported higher trust in central governments [21,29]. Other highly receptive countries included Brazil (85.36%), South Africa (81.58%), Denmark (80%), and the UK (79%); Russia had the lowest (54.9%), followed by France (58.9-62%), which also reported the largest rate of "unsure" responses (28%) [21,22].…”

“…A top facilitator of confidence is doctors' recommendation [2,19,32,59], motivating 80% of Chinese [29] and 62% of Americans [13] (compared to 54% if the FDA endorsed the vaccine safety [56]). Opinion of families and friends also played a role [2].…”

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 . US studies conducted early in the pandemic found that between 58% and 86% of adults reported they were likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 6,[9][10][11] .…”