Abstract
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is crucial to lifting community and economic restrictions. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess: (a) COVID-19 vaccine uptake and associated factors; (b) COVID-19 vaccine intentions and associated factors; (c) community support for COVID-19 vaccination strategies and associated factors. The survey was conducted between May and July 2021 in Australia. Of 3003 participants, 30% reported they were already vaccinated and 39% indicated they would get vaccinated. Low socioeconomic and education levels, non-English speaking backgrounds and being parents were associated with decreased vaccine willingness and/or vaccination rates. High levels of support for vaccination strategies were demonstrated with mandatory vaccination being less preferable. Respondents from non-English speaking backgrounds were more likely to support a mandatory vaccination policy. Respondents with the highest socioeconomic level were more likely to support vaccination requirements for international travel, visiting nursing homes and working in healthcare settings. Respondents who were aged ≥70 years were more likely to support all proposed vaccination strategies. Targeted campaigns should be implemented for parents and those who live in socioeconomic disadvantaged areas and have lower educational attainment. Concise and clear vaccine information should be provided in lay and multiple languages to improve vaccine confidence. Vaccine enforcement policies should be considered and implemented with caution.
Highlights
COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and rolled out in many countries
This survey was conducted with 3003 South Australians between May and July 2021 including 718 parents or caregivers
In comparison with the Australian adult population, our survey respondents are generally representative with the exception of South Australians being older, less culturally diverse and more likely to be single
Summary
In Australia, it has been estimated that 85% of the Australian population including 5–16 year-olds will have to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity [1]. Initial shortage of vaccine supply, delays in local production and public concerns over the safety of COVID-19 vaccines with intensive media coverage have impacted Australia’s rollout. 47.5% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine [2], concerns about vaccination hesitancy had been raised even prior to the start of rollouts and has been reported worldwide [3,4]. High vaccination coverage is critical to lifting COVID-19 restrictions and achieving potential herd immunity. There is an urgent need to examine vaccine uptake and public opinion towards vaccination policies in order to develop evidence-based communication strategies to build trust and continue to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake in target groups
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