Abstract
It is critical to develop tailored strategies to increase acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine and decrease hesitancy. Hence, this study aims to assess and identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Portugal. We used data from a community-based survey, “COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion”, which includes data regarding intention to take COVID-19 vaccines, health status, and risk perception in Portugal from September 2020 to January 2021. We used multinomial regression to identify factors associated with intention to delay or refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Portugal was high: 56% would wait and 9% refuse. Several factors were associated with both refusal and delay: being younger, loss of income during the pandemic, no intention of taking the flu vaccine, low confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine and the health service response during the pandemic, worse perception of government measures, perception of the information provided as inconsistent and contradictory, and answering the questionnaire before the release of information regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. It is crucial to build confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine as its perceived safety and efficacy were strongly associated with intention to take the vaccine. Governments and health authorities should improve communication and increase trust.
Highlights
By the first week of January 2021, with more than 89 million COVID-19 cases confirmed and almost 2 million COVID-19 confirmed deaths worldwide [1], the start of the COVID-19 vaccination was a beacon of hope for normal life to return
The situation was reversed for individuals who would wait before taking the vaccine, with a higher percentage for individuals with a university degree (55.7% versus 50.6%)
This study found that 35% of the participants would take the vaccine as soon as possible, 56% would wait before taking the vaccine, and 9% would not take the vaccine
Summary
By the first week of January 2021, with more than 89 million COVID-19 cases confirmed and almost 2 million COVID-19 confirmed deaths worldwide [1], the start of the COVID-19 vaccination was a beacon of hope for normal life to return They prompted discussions on vaccination hesitancy as a vaccination program’s success will depend on uptake among the population [2]. Vaccine hesitancy is defined as the delay in acceptance, reluctance, or refusal of vaccination despite the availability of vaccination services [2,3] It has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 [3]. While being male, having fewer years of education, or being part of minority religious groups were associated with decreased chances of vaccine uptake, confidence in the importance of vaccines, information-seeking behaviours, and trust in healthcare workers were associated with increased chances [4]
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