Quite close to a third of Americans, 31.13%, are planning to take a pass on any COVID-19 vaccination they might be offered. And it’s not inconvenience or expectations of long waits that are prompting the deliberated refusals.
Rather, most of the shot skippers have misgivings about the vaccines’ safety and/or effectiveness.
Social Science & Medicine published the study behind the findings this week.
Lead author Timothy Callaghan, PhD, of Texas A&M University and colleagues surveyed a demographically representative sampling of 5,000 or so adults in mid-2020.
They found the subpopulation with the highest “No thanks” rate is women, who are 71% more likely than men not to pursue vaccination.
As the authors point out, this is especially ominous since women with families often make health decisions for everyone in their household.
The demographic with the second highest planned refusal rate is Blacks, who are 41% more likely than whites not to pursue vaccination. The authors note Black Americans’ high rates of COVID infection and poorer than average outcomes.
Also notable is an association between intention to refuse and identification with conservative political views.
After concerns over safety (17.8%) and efficaciousness (15.6%), reasons for likely vaccine eschewal include lack of insurance (6.2%) and money worries (6.2%).
Some 3.3% of the survey sampling will forego inoculation because they’ve already had COVID-19.
In their discussion, Callaghan and co-authors call for wringing a silver lining from inside the cloud of discouraging responses.
“[W]hile our findings present an alarming challenge for the future of combating COVID-19, they also present an opportunity to counteract refusal,” they write. “Our findings offer a first step toward developing effective health communications to reduce COVID-19 vaccine refusal.
Knowing which subgroups are most likely to refuse vaccination, public health experts “can develop health messages targeted at encouraging vaccination among these groups,” Callaghan et al. add. “This approach could prove vital to improving uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine.”
The study is available in full for free, and Texas A&M Today has posted additional news coverage.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.