Abstract
Lack of knowledge and mistrust towards vaccines represent a challenge in achieving the vaccination coverage required for population immunity. The aim of this study is to examine the opinion that specific demographic groups have about COVID-19 vaccination, in order to detect potential fears and reasons for negative attitudes towards vaccination, and to gain knowledge on how to prepare strategies to eliminate possible misinformation that could affect vaccine hesitancy. The data collection approach was based on online questionnaire surveys, divided into three groups of questions that followed the main postulates of the health belief theory—a theory that helps understanding a behaviour of the public in some concrete surrounding in receiving preventive measures. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were used to examine the influence of individual factors on refusing the vaccine, and to provide information on the perception of participants on the danger of COVID-19 infection, and on potential barriers that could retard the vaccine utility. There was an equal proportion of participants (total number 276) who planned on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine (37%), and of those who did not (36.3%). The rest (26.7%) of participants were still indecisive. Our results indicated that attitudes on whether to receive the vaccine, on how serious consequences might be if getting the infection, as well as a suspicious towards the vaccine efficacy and the fear of the vaccine potential side effects, may depend on participants’ age (<40 vs. >40 years) and on whether they are healthcare workers or not. The barriers that make participants‘ unsure about of receiving the vaccine, such as a distrust in the vaccine efficacy and safety, may vary in different socio-demographic groups and depending on which is the point of time in the course of the pandemic development, as well as on the vaccine availability and experience in using certain vaccine formulas. There is a pressing need for health services to continuously provide information to the general population, and to address the root causes of mistrust through improved communication, using a wide range of policies, interventions and technologies.
Highlights
The Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the defining global health crisis of our time which affected public health, social life, economic strategies and political efficacy [1]
The aim of the study was to examine the opinion of specific demographic groups towards COVID-19 vaccination, to detect which subgroups have which types of negative attitudes and reasons for refusing vaccination
This study was conducted in time before vaccine was available in general population
Summary
The Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the defining global health crisis of our time which affected public health, social life, economic strategies and political efficacy [1]. This global phenomenon was firstly identified in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread to affecting more than 151 millions of people worldwide. An ongoing public acceptance is required to maintain herd immunity, prevent outbreaks of vaccine preventable illnesses and ensure adoption of novel vaccines This means that global collaboration and willingness to receive vaccines among the population play a major role [4]. Even though the situation with COVID-19 pandemic is specific and different from previous needs for mass vaccination, in terms of the spread of the pandemic all over the globe, many undetermined factors that influence this spread and the number of experimental vaccines that are available—the public concern regarding vaccination is always about usefulness and safety of vaccines [7,8,9]
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