Abstract
Purpose: This study analyzed the insights and sentiments of COVID-19 anti-vaccine comments from Instagram feeds and Facebook postings. The sentiments related to the acceptance and effectiveness of the vaccines that were on the verge of being made available to the public. Patients and methods: The qualitative software QSR-NVivo 10 was used to manage, code, and analyse the data. Results: The analyses uncovered several major issues concerning COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The production of the COVID-19 vaccine at an unprecedented speed evoked the fear of skipping steps that would compromise vaccine safety. The unknown long-term effects and duration of protection erode confidence in taking the vaccines. There were also persistent concerns with regard to vaccine compositions that could be harmful or contain aborted foetal cells. The rate of COVID-19 death was viewed as low. Many interpreted the 95% effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine as insufficient. Preference for immunity gains from having an infection was viewed as more effective. Peer-reviewed publication-based data were favoured as a source of trust in vaccination decision-making. Conclusions: The anti-COVID-19 vaccine sentiments found in this study provide important insights for the formulation of public health messages to instill confidence in the vaccines.
Highlights
The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development efforts began with the onset of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019
There was a Healthcare 2021, 9, 1530 concern that the COVID-19 vaccine has not been tested on an adequate number of subjects in clinical trials
Mistrust towards COVID-19 vaccines represents a significant challenge in achieving the vaccination coverage needed to achieve population immunity
Summary
The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development efforts began with the onset of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) eventually became an ongoing pandemic with no specific treatments or vaccines available for prevention. The COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be the most effective and sustainable approach for controlling the pandemic. Unprecedented research effort and global coordination resulted in the rapid development of vaccine candidates and the initiation of many clinical trials worldwide. The acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine has been reported in several studies worldwide. An early study of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in France conducted 10 days after the nationwide lockdown revealed 74% acceptance [2].
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