Factors Affecting Attitudes towards COVID-19 Vaccination: An Online Survey in Slovenia

Abstract

While the problem of vaccine hesitancy is not new, it has become more pronounced with the new COVID-19 vaccines and represents an obstacle to resolving the crisis. Even people who would usually trust vaccines and experts now prefer to wait for more information. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Slovenia in December 2020 to find out the attitudes of the population regarding COVID-19 vaccination and the factors that affect these attitudes. Based on 12,042 fully completed questionnaires, we find that higher intention to get vaccinated is associated with men, older respondents, physicians and medical students, respondents who got the influenza vaccination, those who knew someone who had gotten hospitalised or died from COVID-19 and those who have more trust in experts, institutions and vaccines. Nurses and technicians were less likely to get vaccinated. In answers to an open question, sceptics were split into those doubting the quality due to the rapid development of the vaccine and those that reported personal experiences with side effects of prior vaccinations. Although the Slovenian population is diverse in its attitudes towards vaccination, the results are comparable to those found in other countries. However, there are potential limitations to the generalizability of the findings that should be addressed in future studies.

Intention to Be Vaccinated for COVID-19 among Italian Nurses during the Pandemic

“…We estimated that the potential number of the subjects included in the mailing list for the survey was about 5000, but the rate of nurses who effectively opened the link of the LimeSurvey© platform is unknown. According to some published studies, the average reach is between 5 and 6% [ 23 ], but we can suppose a larger percentage due to the high HCW interest about COVID-19 vaccine.…”

“…Moreover, the statistical power of the study was limited and the real response rate among nurses is unknown. However, according to data from the literature that estimate the average reach to be between 5 and 6% [ 23 ], we can suppose that a large percentage of subjects who opened the link of the survey fulfilled the questionnaire. Regarding the sample size, the need to complete data collection among nurses in the short time period between the announcement of the vaccination campaign and its beginning (about one month) is the reason for the relatively limited number of subjects enrolled in the study.…”

Scientific Literacy Linked to Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Vaccinations: A Pre-Registered Study

“…Previous research has revealed that factors associated with scientific knowledge are linked with COVID-19 vaccine attitudes (e.g., Petravić et al, 2021;Robertson et al, 2021;Sturgis et al, 2021). Educational levels were associated with COVID-19 vaccine refusal/hesitancy (Petravić et al, 2021;Robertson et al, 2021;Schwarzinger et al, 2021).…”

COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in students and trainees of healthcare professions: A global assessment and call for action

“…Alali et al, 2021 , Grü ner and Kr ü ger, 2020 , Jain et al, 2021 , Jiang et al, 2021 , Kelekar et al, 2021 , Lucia et al, 2020 , Mascarenhas et al, 2021 , Pastorino et al, 2021 , Patelarou et al, 2021 , Petravić et al, 2021 , Riad et al, 2021 , Rosental and Shmueli, 2021 , Saied et al, 2021 , Szmyd et al, 2021 .…”