MONDAY, Jan. 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) — More than three-quarters of U.S. adults report being “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study published online Jan. 3 in the Journal of Community Health.
Jagdish Khubchandani, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, and colleagues conducted an online survey of 1,878 U.S. adults to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
The researchers found that the likelihood of getting a COVID-19 immunization was as follows: very likely, 52 percent; somewhat likely, 27 percent; not likely, 15 percent; and definitely not, 7 percent. Individuals who had a lower level of education, income, or perceived threat of getting infected were more likely to report that they were not likely/definitely not going to get a COVID-19 vaccine. In an unadjusted analysis, vaccine hesitancy was higher among African Americans (34 percent), Hispanics (29 percent), those who had children at home (25 percent), rural dwellers (29 percent), people in the Northeastern United States (25 percent), and those who identified as Republicans (29 percent). In an adjusted analysis, vaccine hesitancy was predicted significantly by sex, education, employment, income, having children at home, political affiliation, and the perceived threat of getting infected with COVID-19 in the next year.
“Given the high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, evidence-based communication, mass media strategies, and policy measures will have to be implemented across the United States to convert vaccines into vaccinations and mass immunization with special attention to the groups identified in this study,” the authors write.
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