Abstract
Background: The uptake of a Covid-19 vaccine will be instrumental in limiting the spread of the disease as herd immunity requires coverage of up to 80% of the population.
Purpose: To identify the predictors associated with the willingness to get vaccinated against Covid-19 once a vaccine becomes available, and to investigate whether they coincide with the predictors of attitudes towards vaccination in general.
Methods: A representative sample of 2,060 Belgians were surveyed between 6 and 16 October 2020.
Results: 34% (n=651) of the participants reported that they will definitely vaccinate against Covid-19 once a vaccine is available and 39% (n=742) that they would “probably” vaccinate. A multivariate analysis found that increased intended uptake was strongly associated with age, opinion on the government’s dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, medical risk and spoken language, and to a lesser extent with sex and having known someone who was hospitalised because of Covid-19. Similar predictors were identified for attitudes to vaccination; however, Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy was more marked in age groups below 54 years old. We further analysed a sample of 17% (n=349) of the participants found favourable to vaccination in general but not willing to vaccinate against Covid-19. These inconsistent people were mainly female, young, French speaking, slightly less educated, and working. They also did not belong to a Covid-19 risk group, were very dissatisfied with the government’s dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, and did not know personally someone who was hospitalized because of Covid-19.
Conclusions: The majority of Belgians intend to vaccinate, though uptake is lower in groups at lower risk of severe forms of Covid-19. While most of the population is aware of the collective welfare of infectious disease vaccination, Covid-19 is not perceived as any infectious disease and exhibits higher levels of vaccination hesitancy. Communication campaigns will need to inform on the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccination to encourage uptake.
Purpose: To identify the predictors associated with the willingness to get vaccinated against Covid-19 once a vaccine becomes available, and to investigate whether they coincide with the predictors of attitudes towards vaccination in general.
Methods: A representative sample of 2,060 Belgians were surveyed between 6 and 16 October 2020.
Results: 34% (n=651) of the participants reported that they will definitely vaccinate against Covid-19 once a vaccine is available and 39% (n=742) that they would “probably” vaccinate. A multivariate analysis found that increased intended uptake was strongly associated with age, opinion on the government’s dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, medical risk and spoken language, and to a lesser extent with sex and having known someone who was hospitalised because of Covid-19. Similar predictors were identified for attitudes to vaccination; however, Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy was more marked in age groups below 54 years old. We further analysed a sample of 17% (n=349) of the participants found favourable to vaccination in general but not willing to vaccinate against Covid-19. These inconsistent people were mainly female, young, French speaking, slightly less educated, and working. They also did not belong to a Covid-19 risk group, were very dissatisfied with the government’s dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, and did not know personally someone who was hospitalized because of Covid-19.
Conclusions: The majority of Belgians intend to vaccinate, though uptake is lower in groups at lower risk of severe forms of Covid-19. While most of the population is aware of the collective welfare of infectious disease vaccination, Covid-19 is not perceived as any infectious disease and exhibits higher levels of vaccination hesitancy. Communication campaigns will need to inform on the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccination to encourage uptake.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Louvain |
| Publisher | UCLouvain Institute of Economic and Social Research |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Dec 2020 |
Keywords
- Belgium
- Covid-19
- Hesitancy
- Immunisation
- Vaccination