Factors Influencing the Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccines in a Country with a High Vaccination Rate

Abstract

Control of the COVID-19 pandemic largely depends on the effectiveness of the vaccination process. An understanding of the factors that underlie the willingness to accept vaccination contributes pivotal information to controlling the pandemic. We analyzed the association between the willingness to accept the available COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine determinants amidst the Chilean vaccination process. Individual-level survey data was collected from 744 nationally representative respondents and multivariate regression models were used to estimate the association between outcome and explanatory variables. We found that trust in COVID-19 vaccines, scientists, and medical professionals significantly increased the willingness to: accept the vaccines and booster doses, as well as annual vaccinations and the vaccination of children. Our results are critical to understanding the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines in the context of a country with one of the world’s highest vaccination rates. We provide useful information for decision-making and policy design, in addition to establishing guidelines regarding how to effectively explain vaccination programs to citizens.

Willingness to receive an annual COVID-19 booster vaccine in the German-speaking D-A-CH region in Europe: A cross-sectional study

“…Most of those variables were chosen based on previous research identifying them as factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 A few (personality traits, work-life-balance, satisfaction with work, self-reported type in conversations) were included based on a priori hypotheses by the research team, related in part to our previous study of vaccine hesitancy in Austria. 27 , 28 …”

“…27 , 28 Another previous study reported that acceptance of an annual COVID-19 vaccine decreased with increasing trust in religious leaders. 23 Therefore we hypothesized that more frequent participation in religious meetings would be associated with lower willingness to receive an annual COVID-19 booster in our sample.…”

“…Notably, most of those studies only assessed willingness to receive a single – not an annual – booster. 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 Those studies identified several factors that influenced willingness to receive a booster, including trust in the COVID-19 vaccine, in scientists and medical professionals, and in religious leaders, as well as perception of vaccine effectiveness, perceived risk of infection and vaccine side-effects, and less adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviors. 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 Other factors included mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry, willingness to receive a non-US-manufactured vaccine, being fully immunized, and belief in the effectiveness of mixing/matching different vaccines.…”

“… 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 Those studies identified several factors that influenced willingness to receive a booster, including trust in the COVID-19 vaccine, in scientists and medical professionals, and in religious leaders, as well as perception of vaccine effectiveness, perceived risk of infection and vaccine side-effects, and less adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviors. 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 Other factors included mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry, willingness to receive a non-US-manufactured vaccine, being fully immunized, and belief in the effectiveness of mixing/matching different vaccines. The studies also identified sociodemographic and medical history factors associated with willingness to receive a booster, including gender (women were more willing), older age, race, lower education, political conservativeness, obesity, history of chronic disease, and history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.…”

“…The studies also identified sociodemographic and medical history factors associated with willingness to receive a booster, including gender (women were more willing), older age, race, lower education, political conservativeness, obesity, history of chronic disease, and history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 We conducted a survey of adults in the D-A-CH region to investigate these factors in relation to their readiness for annual vaccination against COVID-19.…”