Persistent drop in confidence following US recommended pause of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine administration

Benjamin Rader; Molly E Chiang; Douglas L Kriner; Rebecca L Weintraub; John S Brownstein

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.11.035

Persistent drop in confidence following US recommended pause of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine administration

Vaccine. 2023 Jan 4;41(1):5-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.11.035. Epub 2022 Nov 25.

Authors

Benjamin Rader¹, Molly E Chiang², Douglas L Kriner³, Rebecca L Weintraub⁴, John S Brownstein⁵

Affiliations

¹ Computational Epidemiology Lab, Boston Children's Hospital, 401 Park Drive, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA. Electronic address: benjamin.rader@childrens.harvard.edu.
² Computational Epidemiology Lab, Boston Children's Hospital, 401 Park Drive, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
³ Department of Government, Cornell University, 214, White Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
⁴ Ariadne Labs, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health & Brigham and Women's Hospital, 401 Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁵ Computational Epidemiology Lab, Boston Children's Hospital, 401 Park Drive, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: john.brownstein@childrens.harvard.edu.

Abstract

The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine came to market in February 2021 as the first non-mRNA and first single-dose formula approved for use in the US. In April 2021, a temporary pause was recommended for the vaccine after the discovery of rare but serious post-vaccination side-effects. We fielded a large-scale nationally representative survey (n = 401,398) on individual confidence in each of the COVID-19 vaccine formulas available in the US before, during, and after this pause. We find widespread loss of confidence in the Janssen vaccine across gender, age, and other demographics, which persisted over time and after lifting of the halt. Despite this drop, overall reasons for remaining unvaccinated were stable and there was a concurrent minor bump in confidence towards other vaccine formulas. This contrast between the persistent reduction in confidence in the Janssen vaccine and the apparent maintenance of the broader campaign's integrity, highlights the complex dynamics and downstream effects of the pause.

Keywords: Adverse events; Johnson and Johnson; Vaccine acceptance; Vaccine confidence; Vaccine hesitancy; Vaccine policy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Ad26COVS1
COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions*
Humans
Vaccination

Substances

Ad26COVS1
COVID-19 Vaccines