Trends, patterns and psychological influences on COVID-19 vaccination intention: Findings from a large prospective community cohort study in England and Wales (Virus Watch)

• Published in: Vaccine 2021-11, Vol.39 (48), p.7108-7116
• Main Authors: Byrne, Thomas, Patel, Parth, Shrotri, Madhumita, Beale, Sarah, Michie, Susan, Butt, Jabeer, Hawkins, Nicky, Hardelid, Pia, Rodger, Alison, Aryee, Anna, Braithwaite, Isobel, Fong, Wing Lam Erica, Fragaszy, Ellen, Geismar, Cyril, Kovar, Jana, Navaratnam, Annalan M.D., Nguyen, Vincent, Hayward, Andrew, Aldridge, Robert W, Wijlaar, Linda, Nastouli, Eleni, Spyer, Moira, Killingley, Ben, Cox, Ingemar, Lampos, Vasileios, McKendry, Rachel A., Cheng, Tao, Liu, Yunzhe, Johnson, Anne M., Gibbs, Jo, Gilson, Richard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Age; Cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Confidence intervals; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Data collection; Deprivation; Disease transmission; England; Ethnic factors; Ethnicity; Factor analysis; Households; Humans; Illnesses; Immunization; Influenza; Intention; Minority & ethnic groups; Pandemics; Polls & surveys; Prospective Studies; Psychological factors; Public Health; Questionnaires; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sociodemographics; Vaccination; Vaccine; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Viruses; Wales - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.09.066

•Intention to take a COVID-19 vaccine when offered is very high in England and Wales.•Most people who were initially reluctant to accept a COVID-19 vaccine went on to change their mind.•Young adults and people from some minority ethnic groups are more likely to be uncertain or plan to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine.•Both perceptions of vaccines and perceptions of COVID-19 illness severity shape vaccine intention. Vaccination intention is key to the success of any vaccination programme, alongside vaccine availability and access. Public intention to take a COVID-19 vaccine is high in England and Wales compared to other countries, but vaccination rate disparities between ethnic, social and age groups has led to concern. Online survey of prospective household community cohort study participants across England and Wales (Virus Watch). Vaccination intention was measured by individual participant responses to ‘Would you accept a COVID-19 vaccine if offered?’, collected in December 2020 and February 2021. Responses to a 13-item questionnaire collected in January 2021 were analysed using factor analysis to investigate psychological influences on vaccination intention. Survey response rate was 56% (20,785/36,998) in December 2020 and 53% (20,590/38,727) in February 2021, with 14,880 adults reporting across both time points. In December 2020, 1,469 (10%) participants responded ‘No’ or ‘Unsure’. Of these people, 1,266 (86%) changed their mind and responded ‘Yes’ or ‘Already had a COVID-19 vaccine’ by February 2021. Vaccination intention increased across all ethnic groups and levels of social deprivation. Age was most strongly associated with vaccination intention, with 16–24-year-olds more likely to respond “Unsure” or “No” versus “Yes” than 65–74-year-olds in December 2020 (OR: 4.63, 95 %CI: 3.42, 6.27 & OR 7.17 95 %CI: 4.26, 12.07 respectively) and February 2021 (OR: 27.92 95 %CI: 13.79, 56.51 & OR 17.16 95 %CI: 4.12, 71.55). The association between ethnicity and vaccination intention weakened, but did not disappear, over time. Both vaccine- and illness-related psychological factors were shown to influence vaccination intention. Four in five adults (86%) who were reluctant or intending to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020 had changed their mind in February 2021 and planned to accept, or had already accepted, a vaccine.