ABSTRACT
Background: Globally, vaccination is an important preventive measure. A pronounced willingness to vaccinate is fundamental for the containment of the Coronavirus pandemic by means of vaccination coverage of society. Objectives: The willingness to be vaccinated with a COVID‑19 (coronavirus vaccine) vaccine and its influencing factors are investigated using a random sample of the total population in Germany. Materials and methods: The study is based on a random telephone sample and considers older and previously ill persons according to their proportion in population. The single-topic study on willingness to be vaccinated (n = 2014) was conducted in November/December 2020. Results: The willingness to be vaccinated in the sample is around 67%. Previous experience with vaccinations moderates the willingness to vaccinate. It increases with membership to a risk population. Belief in the efficacy of alternative healing methods and advocacy of alternative treatment procedures are associated with lower willingness to be vaccinated. Older people are more willing to be vaccinated, covarying with their assessment of higher risk in case of illness. Similarly, rejection of vaccination is associated with overestimation of side effects. Conclusions: Willingness to vaccinate is related to vaccination experiences and attitudes towards health care procedures in general. The overestimation of the frequency of serious side effects with vaccinations indicates widespread misinformation. © 2021, The Author(s).