Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccination in Japan

Abstract

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines are being developed by many countries for the safety of their population. However, people of various nations have revealed hesitancy towards being vaccinated, citing reasons such as side effects, safety, a lack of trust in vaccine effectiveness, etc. This study aimed to explore the willingness of people in Japan to be vaccinated or not be vaccinated and the reasons for either decision. A sample of 1100 respondents was drawn from an internet research panel, and a questionnaire survey was administered to evaluate their willingness to be vaccinated by gender, age group, place of living, and underlying illness history. After using descriptive statistics and the chi-squared test to evaluate categorical variables, 65.7% of the participants indicated a willingness to be vaccinated; among them were older age groups, those in rural areas, and those with underlying medical conditions. In addition, males showed less hesitancy towards being vaccinated. Although selectivity bias exists, this study is the first to examine the willingness of Japanese people to be vaccinated. Since vaccine hesitancy and refusal ratio were found to be higher in Japan than in other countries, policy efforts are needed to make the country’s vaccination program viable.

COVID-19 Vaccination Willingness among Chinese Adults under the Free Vaccination Policy

“…Although free vaccinations raised COVID-19 VWR from 69.49% to 83.9% for respondents aged over 58 years old, their VWR remained lower than the 18-27 age group for both paid (OR = 0.581) and free vaccinations (OR = 0.456). This finding was counter to previous studies in Japan and the United States, which showed that the elderly had a higher COVID-19 vaccination willingness [4,20]. The COVID-19 VWR of people who had no medical insurance was only half that of those who had medical insurance (OR = 0.496 for the paid vaccine, OR = 0.513 for the free vaccine) even through the COVID-19 VWR of people without medical insurance increased from 56.82% to 71.59% when the vaccine was free.…”

“…The COVID-19 VWR was 82.25% for the free vaccine, significantly higher than 73.62% for the paid vaccine, increasing the COVID-19 VWR by 11.72%. For the paid vaccine, the VWR in this study was higher than in similar studies in Japan (65.7%) [4], France (62%), Germany (70%) [18] and the United States (69%) [5], but roughly the same as the Netherlands (73%), Italy (74%) and Portugal (75%); the VWR for the free vaccine was similar to Denmark (80%) [18] and Australia (85.8%) [19].…”

“…Previous vaccination studies have shown that many factors are responsible for the COVID-19 vaccination willingness rate (VWR), such as socio-economic factors, awareness of the severity and susceptibility to the disease and trust in the vaccine [4][5][6][7][8]. From a survey in Japan, Yoda and Katsuyama found that males, older age people, rural residents and chronic disease sufferers displayed the highest willingness toward COVID-19 vaccination [4]. Marital status and trust in the health service system were found to be key determinants of COVID-19 vaccination willingness in Saudi Arabia [9].…”

The Incidence and Severity of Post-Vaccination Reactions after Vaccination against COVID-19

“…In Japan a study was conducted in September 2020 that consisted of 1100 respondents. A significantly higher proportion of men were willing to get vaccinated (68.0%) than women (63.2%) The highest willingness to be vaccinated was found among the oldest age group (77.2%) and participants who had chronic diseases (78.4%) [ 22 ].…”

Effect of information about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and side effects on behavioural intentions: two online experiments

“…Indeed, a recent systematic review of such studies (C. Lin et al, 2021) concludes that perceptions of vaccine safety and effectiveness are 'universally' consistent determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (p. 8). Further, surveys which specifically asked COVID-19 vaccine hesitant participants their reason for vaccine refusal or delay consistently report that concerns over safety and efficacy are among the most common reasons given (Callaghan et al, 2021;Fisher et al, 2020;Frank & Arim, 2020;Ruiz & Bell, 2021;Yigit et al, 2021;Yoda & Katsuyama, 2021). Similarly, qualitative research has also highlighted these concerns as reported drivers of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among minority and at-risk groups (Lockyer et al, 2020;Momplaisir et al, 2021;Williams et al, 2020).…”