COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis
BackgroundThere are concerns that vaccine hesitancy may impede COVID-19 vaccine rollout and prevent the achievement of herd immunity. Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite their availability. ObjectiveWe aimed to identify which...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | JMIR Public Health and Surveillance |
| Online Access: | https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/12/e30424 |
| _version_ | 1797735500717490176 |
|---|---|
| author | Jamie L Benham Omid Atabati Robert J Oxoby Mehdi Mourali Blake Shaffer Hasan Sheikh Jean-Christophe Boucher Cora Constantinescu Jeanna Parsons Leigh Noah M Ivers Scott C Ratzan Madison M Fullerton Theresa Tang Braden J Manns Deborah A Marshall Jia Hu Raynell Lang |
| author_facet | Jamie L Benham Omid Atabati Robert J Oxoby Mehdi Mourali Blake Shaffer Hasan Sheikh Jean-Christophe Boucher Cora Constantinescu Jeanna Parsons Leigh Noah M Ivers Scott C Ratzan Madison M Fullerton Theresa Tang Braden J Manns Deborah A Marshall Jia Hu Raynell Lang |
| author_sort | Jamie L Benham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundThere are concerns that vaccine hesitancy may impede COVID-19 vaccine rollout and prevent the achievement of herd immunity. Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite their availability.
ObjectiveWe aimed to identify which people are more and less likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy to inform public health messaging.
MethodsA Canadian cross-sectional survey was conducted in Canada in October and November 2020, prior to the regulatory approval of the COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy was measured by respondents answering the question “what would you do if a COVID-19 vaccine were available to you?” Negative binomial regression was used to identify the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. Cluster analysis was performed to identify distinct clusters based on intention to take a COVID-19 vaccine, beliefs about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, and adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions.
ResultsOf 4498 participants, 2876 (63.9%) reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy was significantly associated with (1) younger age (18-39 years), (2) lower education, and (3) non-Liberal political leaning. Participants that reported vaccine hesitancy were less likely to believe that a COVID-19 vaccine would end the pandemic or that the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine outweighed the risks. Individuals with vaccine hesitancy had higher prevalence of being concerned about vaccine side effects, lower prevalence of being influenced by peers or health care professionals, and lower prevalence of trust in government institutions.
ConclusionsThese findings can be used to inform targeted public health messaging to combat vaccine hesitancy as COVID-19 vaccine administration continues. Messaging related to preventing COVID among friends and family, highlighting the benefits, emphasizing safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination, and ensuring that health care workers are knowledgeable and supported in their vaccination counselling may be effective for vaccine-hesitant populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:59:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df49942feaf24c32a4d3267638b73ea9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2369-2960 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:59:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Public Health and Surveillance |
| spelling | doaj.art-df49942feaf24c32a4d3267638b73ea92023-08-28T20:04:07ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Public Health and Surveillance2369-29602021-12-01712e3042410.2196/30424COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster AnalysisJamie L Benhamhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2233-4613Omid Atabatihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9502-7286Robert J Oxobyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6467-2573Mehdi Mouralihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9969-3892Blake Shafferhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6685-8075Hasan Sheikhhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3280-361XJean-Christophe Boucherhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5529-6572Cora Constantinescuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4228-5756Jeanna Parsons Leighhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8408-674XNoah M Ivershttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2500-2435Scott C Ratzanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5118-4506Madison M Fullertonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8345-2859Theresa Tanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8569-5953Braden J Mannshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-6127Deborah A Marshallhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8467-8008Jia Huhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6548-3985Raynell Langhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0268-4680 BackgroundThere are concerns that vaccine hesitancy may impede COVID-19 vaccine rollout and prevent the achievement of herd immunity. Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite their availability. ObjectiveWe aimed to identify which people are more and less likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy to inform public health messaging. MethodsA Canadian cross-sectional survey was conducted in Canada in October and November 2020, prior to the regulatory approval of the COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy was measured by respondents answering the question “what would you do if a COVID-19 vaccine were available to you?” Negative binomial regression was used to identify the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. Cluster analysis was performed to identify distinct clusters based on intention to take a COVID-19 vaccine, beliefs about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines, and adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions. ResultsOf 4498 participants, 2876 (63.9%) reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy was significantly associated with (1) younger age (18-39 years), (2) lower education, and (3) non-Liberal political leaning. Participants that reported vaccine hesitancy were less likely to believe that a COVID-19 vaccine would end the pandemic or that the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine outweighed the risks. Individuals with vaccine hesitancy had higher prevalence of being concerned about vaccine side effects, lower prevalence of being influenced by peers or health care professionals, and lower prevalence of trust in government institutions. ConclusionsThese findings can be used to inform targeted public health messaging to combat vaccine hesitancy as COVID-19 vaccine administration continues. Messaging related to preventing COVID among friends and family, highlighting the benefits, emphasizing safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination, and ensuring that health care workers are knowledgeable and supported in their vaccination counselling may be effective for vaccine-hesitant populations.https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/12/e30424 |
| spellingShingle | Jamie L Benham Omid Atabati Robert J Oxoby Mehdi Mourali Blake Shaffer Hasan Sheikh Jean-Christophe Boucher Cora Constantinescu Jeanna Parsons Leigh Noah M Ivers Scott C Ratzan Madison M Fullerton Theresa Tang Braden J Manns Deborah A Marshall Jia Hu Raynell Lang COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis JMIR Public Health and Surveillance |
| title | COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis |
| title_full | COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis |
| title_short | COVID-19 Vaccine–Related Attitudes and Beliefs in Canada: National Cross-sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis |
| title_sort | covid 19 vaccine related attitudes and beliefs in canada national cross sectional survey and cluster analysis |
| url | https://publichealth.jmir.org/2021/12/e30424 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamielbenham covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT omidatabati covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT robertjoxoby covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT mehdimourali covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT blakeshaffer covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT hasansheikh covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT jeanchristopheboucher covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT coraconstantinescu covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT jeannaparsonsleigh covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT noahmivers covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT scottcratzan covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT madisonmfullerton covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT theresatang covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT bradenjmanns covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT deborahamarshall covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT jiahu covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis AT raynelllang covid19vaccinerelatedattitudesandbeliefsincanadanationalcrosssectionalsurveyandclusteranalysis |