COVID-19 Vaccination: Comparison of Attitudes, Decision-Making Processes, and Communication among Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Black Americans

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 vaccination rates remain suboptimal among Black Americans who disproportionately experience higher hospitalization and death rates than White Americans. Methods: We conducted a multi-method (interviews and surveys) study among 30 Black Americans (n = 16 vaccinated, n = 14 unvaccinated) to explore factors related to vaccination hesitancy, decision-making processes, and communication related to uptake. Participants were recruited by using community-driven approaches, including partner collaborations. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data, and descriptive and bivariate analysis was used for quantitative data. Results: Of those unvaccinated, 79% (n = 11) stated they were delaying and 21% (n = 3) were declining vaccination indefinitely. When asked about the likelihood of vaccine initiation in 6 months and 12 months, 29% (n = 4) and 36% (n = 5), respectively, stated that they would receive the vaccine. The following themes emerged: (1) COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy exists on a continuum; (2) varied decision-making processes for COVID-19 vaccination; (3) motivators among vaccinated individuals; (4) barriers among unvaccinated individuals; (5) retrieving and navigating vaccine information within the COVID-19 infodemic; and (6) parent perspectives on child vaccination. Conclusions: Findings suggest that vaccinated and unvaccinated participants had similar and dissimilar perspectives in decision-making processes and vaccine concerns as shown in the Decision-making Processes for the COVID-19 vaccination (DePC) model. Based on these findings, future studies should further explore how factors influencing decision-making can lead to divergent outcomes for COVID-19 vaccination.

Attitude toward vaccination against COVID-19 and acceptance of the national “QazVac” vaccine in the Aktobe city population, West Kazakhstan: A cross-sectional survey

“…El-Ghitany et al have reported that the most common reasons for refusing the vaccine are concerns about its efficacy (39.5%) and possible side effects (38.8%) [ 29 ]. The top three concerns among the unvaccinated Black Americans were: (1) the vaccine is too new (92%), (2) safety issues (85%), and (3) preference for natural immunity over vaccine-induced immunity (85%) [ 30 ]. In a cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia, the majority of participants received the Pfizer vaccine (72.8%) and most expressed high confidence in its effectiveness (55%) [ 31 ].…”