scholarly journals What Barriers Exist in the Minds of Vaccine-Hesitant Parents, and How Can We Address Them?

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 626-630
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Kerrigan ◽  
Imane Aitnouri ◽  
Jessica Mar ◽  
Wayne Altman
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Risks And Benefits ◽  
Vaccine Schedule ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Risk Of Disease ◽  
Sexual Concerns

Background and Objectives: Despite substantial health benefits and prolific research efforts to demonstrate safety and increase uptake, vaccine hesitancy has increased dramatically. This study aimed to systematically analyze available literature on vaccine hesitancy in the United States and determine the rationale behind vaccine-hesitant parents and potential interventions. Methods: We conducted a literature search and identified 232 articles; we included 90 after screening. We pulled information from each article using standardized questions for “type of study,” “population,” “specific vaccine,” “reasons for hesitancy,” “hesitancy prevalence,” “attempt at change,” “results of intervention,” and “future interventions.” We created recurrent themes from the data and analyzed these themes via descriptive statistics. Results: Vaccine safety was the most commonly identified reason for vaccine hesitancy amongst studies (50%), followed by not enough information (30%), side effects (26%), low risk of disease (26%), social norms (22%), vaccine schedule (21%), not recommended by doctor (21%), efficacy (18%), cost/access (13%), sexual concerns (12%) and distrust of establishment (7%). Only 20% of papers documented an intervention, and <50% of these reported increased vaccination rates or intent. More research was the most commonly identified next step (49%). Conclusions: Despite large amounts of research on vaccination rates, patients are still reporting not enough information and safety as the most common reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Interventions were few and without promising results. More research was the most suggested intervention. Such research must address concerns of the vaccine-hesitant community, comparing risks and benefits of each vaccination in a longitudinal, coherent, and transparently unbiased fashion.

scholarly journals Emphasize personal health benefits to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (32) ◽  
pp. e2108225118
Author(s):  
Madison Ashworth ◽  
Linda Thunström ◽  
Todd L. Cherry ◽  
Stephen C. Newbold ◽  
David C. Finnoff
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Development ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Multiple Messages ◽  
National Economies ◽  
The Impact

The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is a tremendous scientific response to the current global pandemic. However, vaccines per se do not save lives and restart economies. Their success depends on the number of people getting vaccinated. We used a survey experiment to examine the impact on vaccine intentions of a variety of public health messages identified as particularly promising: three messages that emphasize different benefits from the vaccines (personal health, the health of others, and the recovery of local and national economies) and one message that emphasizes vaccine safety. Because people will likely be exposed to multiple messages in the real world, we also examined the effect of these messages in combination. Based on a nationally quota representative sample of 3,048 adults in the United States, our findings suggest that several forms of public messages can increase vaccine intentions, but messaging that emphasizes personal health benefits had the largest impact.

scholarly journals Taking a Shot at Immunization Adherence

PRiMER ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Potter ◽  
Mila Quinn ◽  
Mark Herring ◽  
Wayne Altman
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Group Visits ◽  
Group Visit ◽  
Parent Concerns ◽  
One Year

Introduction: Decreased vaccination rates in children have played a role in the deaths of several children in the United States over the last decade. Interventions to date have been ineffective at changing vaccination patterns. No studies have evaluated a conciliatory patient-centered approach where parent concerns were acknowledged and addressed in a group setting. Methods: Vaccine-averse parents with incompletely vaccinated children were recruited from a family medicine practice. These parents attended three group visit sessions centered on vaccine safety and efficacy. Pre and post surveys were given at each session. The children’s vaccination records were examined in the year prior and the year following the groups. One year after the group visits, parents were interviewed about their attitudes toward vaccination. Results: There were no significant attitude changes in parents attending the group visits. In the year following the visits, the percentage of recommended vaccines that children had received did not increase. Interviews with parents revealed a broad range of concerns about vaccines and a widespread desire for a longer-term study designed to address these concerns. Conclusions: Surveys and vaccination records revealed no significant change in attitudes or behavior after three group visit sessions, consistent with other research on interventions with vaccine-averse parents. The phone interviews demonstrated a desire for further research into long-term effects of vaccines, with most parents stating that they would consider changing their beliefs if the research was free from commercial bias, addressed their concerns, and was extended out over a long period of time.

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in underserved communities of North Carolina

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0248542
Author(s):  
Irene A. Doherty ◽  
William Pilkington ◽  
Laurin Brown ◽  
Victoria Billings ◽  
Undi Hoffler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Underserved Communities ◽  
Safety Concerns

Background In the United States, underserved communities including Blacks and Latinx are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, describe attitudes related to vaccination, and identify correlates among historically marginalized populations across 9 counties in North Carolina. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey distributed at free COVID-19 testing events in underserved rural and urban communities from August 27 –December 15, 2020. Vaccine hesitancy was defined as the response of “no” or “don’t know/not sure” to whether the participant would get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it became available. Results The sample comprised 948 participants including 27.7% Whites, 59.6% Blacks, 12.7% Latinx, and 63% female. 32% earned <$20K annually, 60% owned a computer and ~80% had internet access at home. The prevalence of vaccine hesitancy was 68.9% including 62.7%, 74%, and 59.5% among Whites, Blacks, and Latinx, respectively. Between September and December, the largest decline in vaccine hesitancy occurred among Whites (27.5 percentage points), followed by Latinx (17.6) and only 12.0 points among Blacks. 51.2% of respondents reported vaccine safety concerns, 23.7% wanted others to get vaccinated first, and 63.1% would trust health care providers about the COVID-19 vaccine. Factors associated with hesitancy in multivariable logistic regression included being female (OR = 1.90 95%CI [1.36, 2.64]), being Black (OR = 1.68 1.16, 2.45]), calendar month (OR = 0.76 [0.63, 0.92]), safety concerns (OR = 4.28 [3.06, 5.97]), and government distrust (OR = 3.57 [2.26, 5.63]). Conclusions This study engaged the community to directly reach underserved minority populations at highest risk of COVID-19 that permitted assessment of vaccine hesitancy (which was much higher than national estimates), driven in part by distrust, and safety concerns.

Compulsory vaccinations for children: Balancing the competing human rights at stake

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-267
Author(s):  
Francesca Camilleri
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Childhood Diseases ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Competing Interests ◽  
European Court ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Vaccine Confidence

Vaccination for children has been a controversial topic for decades and lately it has regained particular importance. We have seen an increase in vaccine hesitancy and decrease in vaccine confidence throughout Europe, particularly due to vaccine-safety concerns by parents. Consequently, vaccination rates for children have dropped and this in turn has led to an increased spread of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, such as measles. As a reaction to this phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy, several European countries have introduced, while others are in the process of introducing, laws making vaccinations compulsory for children for a number of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases. The introduction of such laws affects and gives rise to several competing interests of the parents, the child and the State. Against this background, this article seeks to determine how the European Court of Human Rights should balance the competing human rights that are at stake in cases concerning compulsory vaccinations for children.

scholarly journals Spatial Modeling of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9488
Author(s):  
Abolfazl Mollalo ◽  
Moosa Tatar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
The Impact

Vaccine hesitancy refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services. Despite the efforts of United States healthcare providers to vaccinate the bulk of its population, vaccine hesitancy is still a severe challenge that has led to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases to over 100,000 people during early August 2021. To our knowledge, there are limited nationwide studies that examined the spatial distribution of vaccination rates, mainly based on the social vulnerability index (SVI). In this study, we compiled a database of the percentage of fully vaccinated people at the county scale across the continental United States as of 29 July 2021, along with SVI data as potential significant covariates. We further employed multiscale geographically weighted regression to model spatial nonstationarity of vaccination rates. Our findings indicated that the model could explain over 79% of the variance of vaccination rate based on Per capita income and Minority (%) (with positive impacts), and Age 17 and younger (%), Mobile homes (%), and Uninsured people (%) (with negative effects). However, the impact of each covariate varied for different counties due to using separate optimal bandwidths. This timely study can serve as a geospatial reference to support public health decision-makers in forming region-specific policies in monitoring vaccination programs from a geographic perspective.

scholarly journals Perceived vaccine safety over time in a vaccine hesitant sample: Impact of pausing due to safety concerns

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Rodebaugh ◽  
Madelyn Frumkin ◽  
Rachel Garg ◽  
Laura LaGesse ◽  
Amy McQueen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Current Effort ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Intensive Longitudinal Data ◽  
Perceptions Of Safety ◽  
Vaccine Availability ◽  
Over Time

In the current effort to vaccinate as many people as possible against COVID-19, it has been suggested that events such as the pause in the use of the Janssen vaccine would have a large effect on perceptions of vaccine safety. Further, as vaccination rates slow, there is concern that hesitancy may be stable and difficult to change among those still unvaccinated. We examined both of these issues in our ongoing study of low-income participants. We modeled the intensive longitudinal data provided by 53 individuals. We found the negative, not statistically significant effect of the Janssen pause would be overwhelmed within weeks by the statistically significant increasing perceptions of safety across time. We also observed strong variability in vaccine hesitancy in many participants. Frequent reminders about vaccine availability might catch more people when they are less hesitant, helping increase vaccination rates.

scholarly journals Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines on Covid-19 Incidence and Mortality in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Fang ◽  
John David Clemens ◽  
Zuo-Feng Zhang ◽  
Timothy F. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccination Rate ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Percentage Increase ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Before And After

Background: Despite safe and effective vaccines to prevent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and disease, a substantial minority of the US remains resistant to getting vaccinated. It is imperative to know if expanding vaccination rates could reduce community-wide Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease, not just among those vaccinated. Methods: Negative binomial models were used to estimate associations between U.S. county-level vaccination rates and county-wide COVID-19 incidence and mortality between April 23rd and September 30th, 2021. A two-week lag and a four-week lag were introduced to assess vaccination rate impact on incidence and mortality, respectively. Stratified analyses were performed for county vaccination rates >40%, and before and after Delta became the dominant variant. Findings: Among 3,070 counties, each percentage increase in population vaccination rates reduced county-wide COVID-19 incidence by 0.9% (relative risk (RR) 0.9910 (95% CI: 0.9869, 0.9952)) and mortality by 1.9% (RR 0.9807 (95% CI: 0.9745, 0.9823)). Among counties with vaccination coverage >40%, each percentage increase in vaccination rates reduced COVID-19 disease by 1.5%, RR 0.9850 (95% CI: 0.9793, 0.9952) and mortality by 2.7% (RR 0.9727 (95% CI: 0.9632, 0.9823)). These associations were not observed among counties with <40% vaccination rates. Increasing vaccination rates from 40% to 80% would have reduced COVID-19 cases by 45.4% (RR 0.5458 (95% CI: 0.4335, 0.6873)) and deaths by 67.0% (RR 0.3305 (95% CI: 0.2230, 0.4898)). An estimated 5,989,952 COVID-19 cases could have been prevented and 127,596 lives saved had US population vaccination rates increased from 40% to 80%. Interpretations: Increasing U.S. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rates results in population-wide reductions in COVID-19 incidence and mortality. Furthermore, increasing vaccination rates above 40% has protective effects among non-vaccinated persons. Given ongoing vaccine hesitancy in the U.S., increasing vaccination rates could better protect the entire community and potentially reach herd immunity. Funding: National Cancer Institute

scholarly journals Vaccine Hesitancy in the Time of COVID-19: Attitudes and Intentions of Teens and Parents Regarding the COVID-19 Vaccine

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Amy B. Middleman ◽  
Judy Klein ◽  
Jane Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Parental Concerns ◽  
The Us ◽  
Coverage Rates

To assess attitudes and intentions related to the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, we surveyed adolescents aged 13–18 years and the parents of 13–18-year-olds using national research panels on three occasions or “waves”: before the COVID-19 vaccine was available, after it was available for adults, and after it was available for ages ≥12 years. Data on experiences with COVID-19, the importance of adolescent vaccines, and intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination were analyzed across time points. We found that parental concerns about vaccine safety significantly increased from Wave 1 to 2. Social media had a negative influence on parents’ and adolescents’ opinions about vaccine safety. Demographic variables were associated with vaccination rates reported in Wave 3, consistent with known inequities related to vaccine access. Parents (70%) were supportive of concomitant COVID-19 vaccination with other adolescent vaccines for teens. It is important to address variables associated with vaccine hesitancy to increase COVID-19 vaccine coverage rates in the US.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Are Lowest among Political Outsiders in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byungkyu Lee ◽  
James Chu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccination Rate ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Longitudinal Survey Data ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The U.S

Vaccine hesitancy is a critical barrier to widespread vaccination uptake and containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, vaccines have become politically polarized, with high rates of vaccine hesitancy observed among Republicans. In contrast to prior research focusing on partisan gaps, we investigate vaccination attitudes and uptake among a group overlooked in prior research: those who are eligible to vote but did not register in the presidential elections. Drawing on nationally representative and longitudinal survey data from April 2020 to October 2021, we show that this group – whom we call “political outsiders” – represents about 16% of the U.S. population. They had the lowest vaccination rate (47%) by 2021 October, significantly lower than Republican (65%), Independent (76%), and Democratic voters (88%). Further, we find that political outsiders are less likely to trust physicians compared to other partisan groups. Because the sources they trust differ from partisans, existing public health messaging may be less likely to reach them successfully. Finally, we find that political outsiders experience more socio-economic hardships and are less integrated into society. Hence, our results underscore the importance of targeted efforts to reach this highly vulnerable population.

scholarly journals Social media and vaccine hesitancy

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. e004206
Author(s):  
Steven Lloyd Wilson ◽  
Charles Wiysonge
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Digital Society ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Society Project

BackgroundUnderstanding the threat posed by anti-vaccination efforts on social media is critically important with the forth coming need for world wide COVID-19 vaccination programs. We globally evaluate the effect of social media and online foreign disinformation campaigns on vaccination rates and attitudes towards vaccine safety.MethodsWeuse a large-n cross-country regression framework to evaluate the effect ofsocial media on vaccine hesitancy globally. To do so, we operationalize social media usage in two dimensions: the use of it by the public to organize action(using Digital Society Project indicators), and the level of negative lyoriented discourse about vaccines on social media (using a data set of all geocoded tweets in the world from 2018-2019). In addition, we measure the level of foreign-sourced coordinated disinformation operations on social media ineach country (using Digital Society Project indicators). The outcome of vaccine hesitancy is measured in two ways. First, we use polls of what proportion ofthe public per country feels vaccines are unsafe (using Wellcome Global Monitor indicators for 137 countries). Second, we use annual data of actual vaccination rates from the WHO for 166 countries.ResultsWe found the use of social media to organise offline action to be highly predictive of the belief that vaccinations are unsafe, with such beliefs mounting as more organisation occurs on social media. In addition, the prevalence of foreign disinformation is highly statistically and substantively significant in predicting a drop in mean vaccination coverage over time. A 1-point shift upwards in the 5-point disinformation scale is associated with a 2-percentage point drop in mean vaccination coverage year over year. We also found support for the connection of foreign disinformation with negative social media activity about vaccination. The substantive effect of foreign disinformation is to increase the number of negative vaccine tweets by 15% for the median country.ConclusionThere is a significant relationship between organisation on social media and public doubts of vaccine safety. In addition, there is a substantial relationship between foreign disinformation campaigns and declining vaccination coverage.

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