Factors associated with reported likelihood to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in a nationally representative US survey

Abstract

Objectives: Although general principles related to vaccination hesitancy have been well researched, reports on reluctance to be vaccinated for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States are somewhat surprising, given the disease's substantive disruption of everyday life. However, the landscape in which people are making COVID-19 vaccination decisions has recently evolved with releases of encouraging vaccine-related data and changes to official messaging about the virus. Therefore, this study sought to identify factors associated with reported likelihood to get vaccinated for COVID-19 among US adults in late January 2021.

Study design: We used the Prolific online research panel to survey a nationally representative sample of 1017 US adults.

Methods: Respondents were asked about their behavioral intentions toward COVID-19 vaccination, trust in science, perceptions related to COVID-19, and selected sociodemographic factors. We computed associations between those 11 independent variables and likelihood to get vaccinated for COVID-19 using multiple linear regression.

Results: Around 73.9% of respondents indicated at least some likelihood to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Trust in science and perceived seriousness of COVID-19 were positively associated with intention to get vaccinated, and identifying as Black or African American was negatively associated with intention to get vaccinated. Other factors were moderately, weakly, or not at all associated with intention.

Conclusions: Building trust in science and truthfully emphasizing the seriousness of catching COVID-19 should be further researched for their potential to support campaigns to encourage COVID-19 vaccination. Data continue to suggest the importance of dialogue with Black communities about COVID-19 vaccination.

Keywords: COVID-19; Prevention; Trust in science; Vaccination.