The Impact of Age and Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among United States Adults

Abstract

This observational study examined the relationships between age, vaccine conspiracy beliefs, and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in emerging adults (ages 20–30) and middle-aged adults (ages 50–60) residing in the United States. It also examined sociodemographic predictors of vaccine conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 vaccine uptake—political conservativism, household income, and educational attainment. We recruited 198 emerging adults and 198 middle-aged adults to complete an online survey assessing vaccine conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 vaccination status. First, we found that emerging adults reported stronger vaccine conspiracy beliefs than middle-aged adults (estimated mean difference = 0.43, 95CI = 0.08, 0.79, p = 0.017), but that emerging adults and middle-aged adults did not differ in their likelihood of being vaccinated with estimated rates of COVID-19 vaccination uptake of 63% in emerging adults and 64% in middle-aged adults. Political conservativism was associated with stronger vaccine conspiracy beliefs and lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Lower household income and lower educational attainment were associated with lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake but not associated with vaccine conspiracy beliefs. Second, we found that age moderated the relationship between vaccine conspiracy beliefs and COVID-19 vaccine uptake; stronger vaccine conspiracy beliefs predicted lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake among middle-aged adults (B = −0.63, 95CI = −0.90, −0.36, p < 0.001) but were not associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake among emerging adults (B = −0.21, 95CI = −0.47, 0.05, p = 0.12). These results provide insight into the sociodemographic and psychological factors that influence COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Our findings can help to inform the design of targeted public health interventions to increase vaccine uptake in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Given the crucial role of vaccination in controlling the spread of COVID-19, it is also imperative for future studies to continue investigating how age and vaccine conspiratorial beliefs intersect to impact vaccine uptake.