Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy remains a barrier to full population inoculation against highly infectious diseases. Coincident with the rapid developments of COVID-19 vaccines globally, concerns about the safety of such a vaccine could contribute to vaccine hesitancy. We analyzed 1941 anonymous questionnaires completed by healthcare workers and members of the general Israeli population, regarding acceptance of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Our results indicate that healthcare staff involved in the care of COVID-19 positive patients, and individuals considering themselves at risk of disease, were more likely to self-report acquiescence to COVID-19 vaccination if and when available. In contrast, parents, nurses, and medical workers not caring for SARS-CoV-2 positive patients expressed higher levels of vaccine hesitancy. Interventional educational campaigns targeted towards populations at risk of vaccine hesitancy are therefore urgently needed to combat misinformation and avoid low inoculation rates.

Keywords

MedicineMisinformationVaccinationPublic healthHealth careCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Family medicinePopulationPandemicInfectious disease (medical specialty)DiseaseEnvironmental healthImmunologyNursingInternal medicine

MeSH Terms

BetacoronavirusCOVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesCommunicationCoronavirus InfectionsFemaleHealth KnowledgeAttitudesPracticeHealth PersonnelHumansIsraelMalePandemicsParentsPneumoniaViralSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesVaccinationVaccinesViral Vaccines

Affiliated Institutions

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2021 The Lancet 1722 citations

Publication Info

Year
2020
Type
letter
Volume
35
Issue
8
Pages
775-779
Citations
1749
Access
Closed

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Cite This

Amiel A. Dror, Netanel Eisenbach, Shahar Taiber et al. (2020). Vaccine hesitancy: the next challenge in the fight against COVID-19. European Journal of Epidemiology , 35 (8) , 775-779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-020-00671-y

Identifiers

DOI
10.1007/s10654-020-00671-y
PMID
32785815
PMCID
PMC8851308

Data Quality

Data completeness: 86%