COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy nonetheless stays despite the fact that acceptance charges have elevated in 2022

Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines elevated general by 5.2% in 2022 in comparison with 2021, in keeping with a survey of 160,000 people in 23 international locations, printed within the journal Nature Drugs.

Nevertheless, ranges of acceptance different enormously amongst international locations, with eight reporting will increase in hesitancy starting from 1% within the UK to 21.1% in South Africa. Of those that have been totally vaccinated, 12% reported that they have been nonetheless hesitant and even more likely to refuse a booster dose.

These findings have been offered by a global crew of researchers together with Prof Heidi Larson, who leads The Vaccine Confidence Undertaking on the London Faculty of Hygiene & Tropical Drugs (LSHTM). The purpose to assist information policymakers to extra successfully goal communication methods and vaccination campaigns.

Regardless of a big, international rollout of secure and efficient vaccines towards SARS-CoV-2, hesitancy to obtain these, sustained partly by misinformation and distrust, continues to be a hurdle to the complete realization of their potential in mitigating the impression of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Utilizing a 30-question, on-line survey the crew investigated developments in worldwide vaccine acceptance between 2021-2022. A complete of 23,000 respondents aged 18 or over from 23 international locations whose populations symbolize 60% of the worldwide complete have been surveyed between 29 June and 10July 2022. Half of those respondents have been girls, one-fifth had a college diploma and one in 10 have been healthcare employees.

Total, the crew discovered that there was common willingness to simply accept vaccination – 79.1% of these surveyed – a rise of  5.2% in comparison with figures from June 2021. Perception in vaccine efficacy and security was related to acceptance.

Though vaccine acceptance elevated in most international locations, vaccine hesitancy was on the rise in eight international locations, starting from 1% within the UK to 21.1% in South Africa. Males in Nigeria and Peru have been extra more likely to be hesitant, while in international locations resembling China and Poland, females have been extra more likely to be hesitant . The crew discovered no general affiliation between revenue and hesitancy throughout the board.

Roughly one in eight vaccinated survey respondents reported that they have been hesitant to obtain a booster dose, starting from 1.1% in China to twenty-eight.9% in Russia. Equally to common vaccine hesitancy, demographic components performed a job in country-specific variance in opinions of booster vaccines. For instance, in Spain, Germany or South Korea, youthful people have been extra more likely to be hesitant, while in Ecuador it was older people who have been extra more likely to be hesitant. Canada and the UK have been amongst the 4 international locations the place incomes beneath median revenue was related to an elevated chance of hesitancy.  

There was a small however vital general improve in whether or not dad and mom have been prepared to let their youngsters be vaccinated, up from 67.6% in 2021 to 69.5% in 2022. Nevertheless, in eight international locations, hesitancy elevated (starting from a rise of two.4% in Poland to 56.3% in Brazil) with a father or mother’s personal hesitancy to be vaccinated themselves being the most important influencer of this development.

In comparison with 2021, 38.6% of these surveyed declare that they’re now much less attentive in terms of receiving new data concerning COVID-19 vaccines, starting from 7.5% in India to 58.3% in Nigeria.  

As co-author Heidi Larson, notes: “This research highlights plenty of points we are able to handle now, each for the present persevering with pandemic in addition to for future preparedness. Lots of those that have been vaccinated nonetheless report hesitancy round boosters for themselves, COVID-19 vaccination for his or her youngsters. This story shouldn’t be over.”

Supply:

London Faculty of Hygiene & Tropical Drugs (LSHTM)

Journal reference:

Lazarus et al., A survey of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance throughout 23 international locations in 2022. Nature Drugs. DOI 10.1038/s41591-022-02185-4.