Abstract
The scientific call for vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic has met hesitancy, postponement, and direct opposition of parts of the public in several countries. Mistrusting the COVID-19 vaccine, distrusting the authorities, and unrealistic optimism, are three major reasons employed in justifying vaccine hesitancy. The present study examines two major issues. First, it strives to identify individuals that are unwilling to adhere to the vaccination process, more strongly question the effectiveness and necessity of the COVID-19 vaccine, and wonder about potential covert reasons for its administration. Second, it investigates associations between such “conspiracy” claims and the actual rejection of the vaccine. We assume that individuals belonging to social groups which are partly excluded by the general society will be less willing to fulfill the demands of this society, more inclined to reject the vaccine and associate it with some hidden conspiracy. A relatively large sample of the Israeli public (N = 2002) has responded to an anonymous questionnaire pertaining, among other things, to vaccine hesitancy and the individual level of vaccine uptake. Previous research has mainly examined the reasons for vaccine hesitancy. The present study's results indicate that three out of four social exclusion criteria (young adulthood, low level of income, and orthodox religiosity) have negatively predicted vaccine uptake and positively predicted three types of reasoning for vaccine hesitancy. Young adulthood was the strongest predictor of vaccine rejection. Attempts at convincing hesitating individuals to uptake this vaccine have often failed in many countries. As varied reasons underlie vaccine refusal, it is suggested that the approach to different vaccine rejecting groups should not be generic but rather tailor-made, in an attempt to influence their perceptions and behavior.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has caught countries worldwide unprepared for coping with this plague and without a supply of an effective vaccine
In addition to the above already established findings concerning characteristics of vaccine hesitancy and vaccine dissenters, we suggest that in case of an epidemic, people who belong to social groups which are partly excluded and perhaps less appreciated, as well as those who deliberately choose to isolate themselves from this society, are more likely to believe in conspiracy claims
The present study indicated that individual vaccine status, i.e., the actual level of vaccine uptake, was significantly predicted by belonging to a partly excluded social group and that being a young adult impacted most strongly vaccine rejection and hesitancy: the younger the age, the greater the hesitancy and rejection of this vaccine
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has caught countries worldwide unprepared for coping with this plague and without a supply of an effective vaccine. Social Exclusion and Vaccine Rejection countries [5] are willing to be vaccinated against this pandemic. Despite the substantial risk of this pandemic, a substantial number of individuals all over the world express vaccine hesitancy and vaccine rejection. It should be noted that vaccine hesitancy is not a specific characteristic of the COVID-19 endemic. It is as old as the vaccine itself, and was observed in previous pandemics [e.g., [7,8,9,10]]
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