COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among New Jersey Teachers and Impacts of Vaccination Information Dissemination

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy continues to be prevalent in the United States, especially in relation to the COVID-19 vaccines and its boosters, which have been made increasingly available for public use as the pandemic has progressed. There continues to be concern surrounding the safety and health of secondary or high school education professionals as they transition back to in-person learning and working opportunities. The present study highlights how information dissemination regarding the COVID-19 vaccine has varied among New Jersey secondary or high school teachers throughout the pandemic. The survey was completed online through the PsychData platform by 269 participants between March and July 2022. Participants received the opportunity to complete the survey via email. Afterwards, data were exported and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SAS 9.4 Analytics Software and stratified by various clinical and demographic-based variables. While trusted agencies and media outlets identified by participants varied, most participants identified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (65.4%), primary care providers (37.5%), and state health departments (28.6%) as their top trusted sources for information related to COVID-19 vaccines. Overall, COVID-19 vaccination advocacy and educational efforts should continue across the state of New Jersey and elsewhere, especially as more variants emerge and boosters become available.

Parents’ Intentions, Concerns and Information Needs about COVID-19 Vaccination in New Jersey: A Qualitative Analysis

“…High-quality provider recommendations to vaccinate are strongly associated with adolescent vaccination in general [ 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. Another study in NJ among high school teachers also found that primary care providers, in addition to the CDC and state health department, were trusted COVID-19 vaccination sources [ 63 ]. Our participants also valued unbiased, scientific evidence regarding vaccination so that they could personally weigh the benefits and risks [ 58 ].…”

Perspectives and Attitudes of Newer New Jersey High School Teachers towards Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting Consumer Products Used in School Classrooms

“…Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the NJSS published many papers regarding actions and perceptions among teachers' responses to different COVID-19-related issues. These studies focused on vaccine practices [42,43], teacher mental health [44], perceptions of WBL activities during the pandemic [45], trends in COVID-19 outbreaks [46], and apprenticeships in NJ [47]. These studies are consistent with the NJSS mission to continue understanding NJ experiences and needs during the pandemic and to ensure safe schools for teachers and students.…”

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Case Status among New Jersey Secondary Educational Professionals

“…After data management and initial descriptive statistics were computed for the entire State of NJ study sample, for each survey question/variable the data were stratified by the vaccination status, number of doses of vaccine, and booster status at the time of the survey; gender; age; county of work; race/ethnicity; and teaching experience (both overall and in NJ). For justification of the county separation, please reference our previously published study [25]. In this study, those who did not get vaccinated are considered vaccine-hesitant.…”

“…The survey used in this study included 28 questions with multiple parts about vaccine status, experience specifically with the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine perceptions and opinions regarding the ease of obtaining the vaccine, factors that were important to obtaining the vaccine, factors that helped convince the participants the vaccine was safe to get, self-reported COVID-19 case information (including hospitalization status), and demographics. Other factors, such as COVID-19 vaccine education, trusted sources of information, safety practices, and concerns about contracting COVID-19, were explored in a previously published study [25]. For more information on the survey questions, please read our previously published study [25].…”

“…Other factors, such as COVID-19 vaccine education, trusted sources of information, safety practices, and concerns about contracting COVID-19, were explored in a previously published study [25]. For more information on the survey questions, please read our previously published study [25]. The full survey can be found in the Supplementary Materials file.…”