A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2
ImportanceVaccination hesitancy—the reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated—is a leading global health threat (World Health Organization, 2019). It is imperative to identify the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 in order to understand the scope of the problem and to identify its motiv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575950/full |
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| author | Steven Taylor Caeleigh A. Landry Michelle M. Paluszek Rosalind Groenewoud Geoffrey S. Rachor Gordon J. G. Asmundson |
| author_facet | Steven Taylor Caeleigh A. Landry Michelle M. Paluszek Rosalind Groenewoud Geoffrey S. Rachor Gordon J. G. Asmundson |
| author_sort | Steven Taylor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ImportanceVaccination hesitancy—the reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated—is a leading global health threat (World Health Organization, 2019). It is imperative to identify the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 in order to understand the scope of the problem and to identify its motivational roots in order to proactively prepare to address the problem when a vaccine eventually becomes available.ObjectiveTo identify (1) the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy for a SARS-CoV2 vaccine, (2) the motivational roots of this hesitancy, and (3) the most promising incentives for improving the likelihood of vaccination uptake when a vaccine does become available.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsA cross-sectional sample of 3,674 American and Canadian adults assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.Main OutcomesMeasures of vaccination intention (i.e., “If a vaccine for COVID-19 was available, would you get vaccinated?”), attitudes toward vaccines in general and specific to SARS-CoV2 using the Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale, and incentives for getting vaccinated for those who reported they would not get vaccinated.ResultsMany American (25%) and Canadian (20%) respondents said that they would not get vaccinated against SARS-CoV2 if a vaccine was available. Non-adherence rates of this magnitude would make it difficult or impossible to achieve herd immunity. Vaccine rejection was most strongly correlated with mistrust of vaccine benefit, and also correlated with worry about unforeseen future effects, concerns about commercial profiteering from pharmaceutical companies, and preferences for natural immunity. When asked about incentives for getting vaccinated, respondents were most likely to report that evidence for rigorous testing and safety of the vaccine were of greatest importance.Conclusions and RelevanceVaccination hesitancy is a major looming problem for COVID-19. To improve vaccine uptake, it is imperative that the vaccine is demonstrated to the public to be rigorously tested and not perceived as rushed or premature in its dissemination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T19:05:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2cf62834341148a2ac0b50652aa57079 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T19:05:51Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-2cf62834341148a2ac0b50652aa570792022-12-22T00:14:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-10-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.575950575950A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2Steven Taylor0Caeleigh A. Landry1Michelle M. Paluszek2Rosalind Groenewoud3Geoffrey S. Rachor4Gordon J. G. Asmundson5Department of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, CanadaImportanceVaccination hesitancy—the reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated—is a leading global health threat (World Health Organization, 2019). It is imperative to identify the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 in order to understand the scope of the problem and to identify its motivational roots in order to proactively prepare to address the problem when a vaccine eventually becomes available.ObjectiveTo identify (1) the prevalence of vaccination hesitancy for a SARS-CoV2 vaccine, (2) the motivational roots of this hesitancy, and (3) the most promising incentives for improving the likelihood of vaccination uptake when a vaccine does become available.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsA cross-sectional sample of 3,674 American and Canadian adults assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020.Main OutcomesMeasures of vaccination intention (i.e., “If a vaccine for COVID-19 was available, would you get vaccinated?”), attitudes toward vaccines in general and specific to SARS-CoV2 using the Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale, and incentives for getting vaccinated for those who reported they would not get vaccinated.ResultsMany American (25%) and Canadian (20%) respondents said that they would not get vaccinated against SARS-CoV2 if a vaccine was available. Non-adherence rates of this magnitude would make it difficult or impossible to achieve herd immunity. Vaccine rejection was most strongly correlated with mistrust of vaccine benefit, and also correlated with worry about unforeseen future effects, concerns about commercial profiteering from pharmaceutical companies, and preferences for natural immunity. When asked about incentives for getting vaccinated, respondents were most likely to report that evidence for rigorous testing and safety of the vaccine were of greatest importance.Conclusions and RelevanceVaccination hesitancy is a major looming problem for COVID-19. To improve vaccine uptake, it is imperative that the vaccine is demonstrated to the public to be rigorously tested and not perceived as rushed or premature in its dissemination.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575950/fullCOVID-19SARSCoV2pandemiccoronavirusvaccinationvaccination hesitancy |
| spellingShingle | Steven Taylor Caeleigh A. Landry Michelle M. Paluszek Rosalind Groenewoud Geoffrey S. Rachor Gordon J. G. Asmundson A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 Frontiers in Psychology COVID-19 SARSCoV2 pandemic coronavirus vaccination vaccination hesitancy |
| title | A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 |
| title_full | A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 |
| title_fullStr | A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 |
| title_short | A Proactive Approach for Managing COVID-19: The Importance of Understanding the Motivational Roots of Vaccination Hesitancy for SARS-CoV2 |
| title_sort | proactive approach for managing covid 19 the importance of understanding the motivational roots of vaccination hesitancy for sars cov2 |
| topic | COVID-19 SARSCoV2 pandemic coronavirus vaccination vaccination hesitancy |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.575950/full |
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