ABSTRACT
Before New Year's Day, mil-ions of Americans had received the vaccine, including front-line physicians, health care providers, and nursing home patients, our most vulnerable citizens. David Pride, MD, a microbiologist at the University of California San Diego, estimates that vaccines typically take 10-15 years to develop. [...]the COVID-19 pandemic, the fastest development timeline was four years, for the mumps vaccine. * Many government systems moved quickly to lessen the burden of onerous regulations, and provide funding so that vaccines could be developed quickly, but with still rigorous standards. After health care workers and our most vulnerable citizens, other frontline workers will be next.
ABSTRACT
To identify factors that predict COVID-19 vaccination refusal and show how expectancies affect vaccination acceptance for non-vaccinated adults, we used a monthly repeated cross-sectional sample from June/2021 to October/2021 to collect data on vaccination behaviors and predictor variables for 2,116 US adults over 50 years of age. Selection bias modeling - which is required when data availability is a result of behavioral choice - predicts two outcomes: (1) no vaccination vs. vaccination for the entire sample and (2) the effects of expectancy indices predicting vaccination Refuser vs. vaccination Accepters for the unvaccinated group. Vaccine refusers were younger and less educated, endorsed common misconceptions about the COVID-19 epidemic, and were Black. Vaccination expectancies were related to vaccination refusal in the unvaccinated eligible group: negative expectancies increased vaccine refusal, while positive expectancies decreased it. We conclude that behavior-related expectancies (as opposed to more stable psychological traits) are important to identify because they are often modifiable and provide a point of intervention, not just for COVID-19 vaccination acceptance but also for other positive health behaviors.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccine uptake is an urgent public health priority. PURPOSE: To identify psychosocial determinants (attitudes, normative pressure, and perceived behavioral control) of COVID-19 vaccination intentions for U.S. White, Black, and Hispanic adults, and how COVID-19 misperceptions, beliefs about the value of science, and perceived media bias relate to these determinants. METHODS: Longitudinal online survey using two national samples (18-49 years old/50 years and older), each stratified by racial/ethnic group (n = 3,190). Data were collected in October/November 2020 and were weighted by race group to be representative. RESULTS: Path analyses showed that more positive attitudes about getting vaccinated predict intention across age and racial/ethnic groups, but normative pressure is relevant among older adults only. Belief in the value of science was positively associated with most determinants across all groups, however the association of COVID-19 misperceptions and perceived media bias with the determinants varied by age group. CONCLUSIONS: Messages that emphasize attitudes toward vaccination can be targeted to all age and racial/ethnic groups, and positive attitudes are universally related to a belief in the value of science. The varying role of normative pressure poses messages design challenges to increase vaccination acceptance.