The faster people are vaccinated against Covid-19, sooner can we hope to contain the pandemic that’s been raging on since the last one and half years. More the people immunized, less the vulnerable population. However, vaccine hesitancy is becoming a challenge in many parts of the world despite availability of safe and effective vaccines, which have hampered efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus. Vaccine hesitancy is multifactorial and now a study from Australia has attempted to identify the factors responsible for vaccine hesitancy.

Topping the list of factors causing vaccine hesitancy is people’s trust in the government’s approval of a safe and effective vaccine against Covid-19 followed by the perceived effectiveness of the vaccine to protect others in the community. Conspiracy beliefs were also significant players in vaccine hesitancy.

The study from the University of Technology Sydney included 4303 participants from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A questionnaire was used to examine their responses to identify the reasons for vaccine hesitancy.

Overall, 66% of respondents were favorably inclined to take the Covid-19 vaccine. Australians had the highest rates of intention (73%), followed by Canada (66%), United Kingdom (64%), New Zealand (62%) and the US (55%). Vaccination intention rates were higher among older adults including  unemployed persons looking for a job and those who had taken the flu vaccine. Altruism and collectivist beliefs were positive factors for vaccine uptake. On the other hand, younger individuals and unemployed persons (not looking for a job) were less likely to be vaccinated.

The following factors (in decreasing order) were identified in the study as key drivers of vaccine hesitancy.

• Trust in government approval of safe & effective COVID-19 vaccine (+)
• Perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for others (+)
• Perceived ability to free-ride (-)
• Conspiracy beliefs about vaccination (-)
• Perceived side-effects of COVID-19 vaccine (+)
• Perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for the individual (+)
• Perceived COVID-19 vaccine availability (+)
• Perceived disease severity for others (+)
• Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 for others (+)
• Perceived disease severity for the individual (+)
• Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 for the individual (+)

The results highlight the need for timely and effective messaging from governments regarding the COVID-19 vaccines and their approval. Communications should be transparent. This would reassure the general public about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines and encourage vaccine uptake.

India initiated the world’s largest Covid vaccination drive from 16^th January this year. The enthusiastic participation of the elderly boosted the second phase of the nationwide drive, which had begun to witness a slump. India’s vaccination drive has had its share of hiccups. However, the vaccination pace has picked up and last week, a record 2.5 crore vaccines were administered on a single day.  Vaccination coverage has exceeded 80 crores. Nevertheless, reasons for vaccine hesitancy must be analysed and addressed.

References

1. Burke PF, et al. Enablers and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake: An international study of perceptions and intentions. Vaccine. 2021;39(36):5116-5128. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.07.056.
2. University of Technology Sydney. https://scitechdaily.com/top-11-reasons-for-covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-first-mistrust-of-government/. September 19, 2021