Abstract
High levels of vaccination coverage in populations will be required even with vaccines that have high levels of effectiveness to prevent and stop outbreaks of coronavirus. The World Health Organisation has suggested that governments take a proactive response to vaccine hesitancy 'hotspots' based on social and behavioural insights. Representative longitudinal online survey of over 3000 adults from Australia that examines the demographic, attitudinal, political and social attitudes and COVID-19 health behavior correlates of vaccine hesitance and resistance to a COVID-19 vaccine. Overall, 59% would definitely get the vaccine, 29% had low levels of hesitancy, 7% had high levels of hesitancy and 6% were resistant. Females, those living in disadvantaged areas, those who reported that risks of COVID-19 was overstated, those who had more populist views and higher levels of religiosity were more likely to be hesitant or resistant while those who had higher levels of household income, those who had higher levels of social distancing, who downloaded the COVID-Safe App, who had more confidence in their state or territory government or confidence in their hospitals, or were more supportive of migration were more likely to intend to get vaccinated. Our findings suggest that vaccine hesitancy, which accounts for a significant proportion of the population can be addressed by public health messaging but for a significant minority of the population with strongly held beliefs, alternative policy measures may well be needed to achieve sufficient vaccination coverage to end the pandemic.
Highlights
For most countries the development of a safe and effective vaccination for COVID-19 is seen as the long-term solution to the COVID-19 pandemic
Our findings suggest that vaccine hesitancy, which accounts for a significant proportion of the population can be addressed by public health messaging but for a significant minority of the population with strongly held beliefs, alternative policy measures may well be needed to achieve sufficient vaccination coverage to end the pandemic
Using a representative longitudinal survey of over 3000 participants from Australia we examine the demographic, attitudinal, political and social attitudes and COVID-19 health behaviour correlates of vaccine hesitance and resistance to a COVID-19 vaccine
Summary
For most countries the development of a safe and effective vaccination for COVID-19 is seen as the long-term solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates of infectivity of the coronavirus suggest that with a 100 per cent effective vaccine, 67 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated [2] but that vaccination coverage needed varies by infectivity Simulations suggest that solely relying on a vaccine to extinguish a COVID-19 epidemic would require vaccination coverage of 100 per cent with vaccine effectiveness of 60 per cent [4]. For 80 per cent effectiveness of a vaccine, coverage of 75 per cent of the population would be required [4], a high vaccination rate to ensure eradication or control of the coronavirus in populations. The World Health Organisation has suggested that governments take a proactive response to vaccine hesitancy ‘hotspots’ based on social and behavioural insights
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