Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic
The epidemic control approach was based on non-pharmacological measures in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by vaccine uptake in the second year. Vaccine uptake depends on the individual attitude toward vaccination. The aim was to assess the changes in attitudes regarding COVID-19 v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/1/147 |
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| author | Ljiljana Markovic-Denic Vladimir Nikolic Nevenka Pavlovic Gorica Maric Aleksa Jovanovic Aleksandra Nikolic Vuk Marusic Sandra Sipetic Grujicic Tatjana Pekmezovic |
| author_facet | Ljiljana Markovic-Denic Vladimir Nikolic Nevenka Pavlovic Gorica Maric Aleksa Jovanovic Aleksandra Nikolic Vuk Marusic Sandra Sipetic Grujicic Tatjana Pekmezovic |
| author_sort | Ljiljana Markovic-Denic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The epidemic control approach was based on non-pharmacological measures in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by vaccine uptake in the second year. Vaccine uptake depends on the individual attitude toward vaccination. The aim was to assess the changes in attitudes regarding COVID-19 vaccine protection during the pandemic and to determine the vaccination uptake concerning these attitudes. A panel study on COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and vaccination against COVID-19 was conducted in Belgrade, Serbia. The first survey was carried out in May–June 2020, and the second survey was organized in August–September 2021. During the baseline testing performed in 2020, 64.4% of respondents believed that the future vaccine against COVID-19 could protect against the COVID-19 disease, while 9.7% thought that it could not, and 25.9% were unsure. One year later, in the second survey, the percentage of participants with positive attitudes was slightly lower (64.7% vs. 62.5%). However, negative attitudes turned positive in 34% of cases, and 28.9% became unsure about vaccine protection (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Out of the 390 participants included in the study, 79.7% were vaccinated against COVID-19 until follow-up. There is a statistically significant difference in vaccination uptake compared to the baseline attitude about the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine. The main finding of our study is that the majority of participants who were vaccine hesitant during the baseline testing changed their opinion during the follow-up period. Additionally, the baseline attitude about the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be a potential determinant of vaccination uptake. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:04:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-97350668114c42c08246a6f2e83738a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:04:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj.art-97350668114c42c08246a6f2e83738a32023-12-01T01:03:41ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2023-01-0111114710.3390/vaccines11010147Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during PandemicLjiljana Markovic-Denic0Vladimir Nikolic1Nevenka Pavlovic2Gorica Maric3Aleksa Jovanovic4Aleksandra Nikolic5Vuk Marusic6Sandra Sipetic Grujicic7Tatjana Pekmezovic8Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaCenter for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Public Health of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaThe epidemic control approach was based on non-pharmacological measures in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by vaccine uptake in the second year. Vaccine uptake depends on the individual attitude toward vaccination. The aim was to assess the changes in attitudes regarding COVID-19 vaccine protection during the pandemic and to determine the vaccination uptake concerning these attitudes. A panel study on COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and vaccination against COVID-19 was conducted in Belgrade, Serbia. The first survey was carried out in May–June 2020, and the second survey was organized in August–September 2021. During the baseline testing performed in 2020, 64.4% of respondents believed that the future vaccine against COVID-19 could protect against the COVID-19 disease, while 9.7% thought that it could not, and 25.9% were unsure. One year later, in the second survey, the percentage of participants with positive attitudes was slightly lower (64.7% vs. 62.5%). However, negative attitudes turned positive in 34% of cases, and 28.9% became unsure about vaccine protection (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Out of the 390 participants included in the study, 79.7% were vaccinated against COVID-19 until follow-up. There is a statistically significant difference in vaccination uptake compared to the baseline attitude about the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine. The main finding of our study is that the majority of participants who were vaccine hesitant during the baseline testing changed their opinion during the follow-up period. Additionally, the baseline attitude about the protection of the COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be a potential determinant of vaccination uptake.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/1/147COVID-19attitudevaccinationvaccinesimmunizationpandemic |
| spellingShingle | Ljiljana Markovic-Denic Vladimir Nikolic Nevenka Pavlovic Gorica Maric Aleksa Jovanovic Aleksandra Nikolic Vuk Marusic Sandra Sipetic Grujicic Tatjana Pekmezovic Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic Vaccines COVID-19 attitude vaccination vaccines immunization pandemic |
| title | Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic |
| title_full | Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic |
| title_short | Changes in Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake during Pandemic |
| title_sort | changes in attitudes toward covid 19 vaccination and vaccine uptake during pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 attitude vaccination vaccines immunization pandemic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/11/1/147 |
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