Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination in the Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study in Southern Italy

Abstract

In Italy, at the end of 2020, a voluntary immunization plan against COVID-19 was introduced, involving elderly among the first target categories. The aim of this study was to assess, through an online questionnaire, the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination in a sample of older adults from southern Italy. Of a total of 1041 respondents (41.7% males, mean age 76.6 ± 6.5), 965 (92.7%) were vaccinated or willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, although less than half of the sample was favorable to vaccinations and agreed with mandatory immunization. Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination was found to be positively related with higher educational level (OR = 1.875, CI95% = 1.113–3.161; p = 0.018) and having social/mass media as a main source of information (OR = 2.415 CI95% = 1.358–4.296, p = 0.003). On the contrary, an inverse relationship was found between acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination and having fulfilled the questionnaire after the introduction of green pass (OR = 0.218, CI95% = 0.129–0.369; p < 0.001). Therefore, although this evidence needs to be further confirmed, it is possible to agree with previous studies reporting that compulsory measures, such as green pass implementation, must be accompanied by effective education and information strategies of the target population.

Knowledge, Perception, and Willingness towards Immunization among Bangladeshi Population during COVID-19 Vaccine Rolling Period

“…The implication of a higher susceptibility of the older people towards COVID-19 may have culminated in a more heightened awareness of it, which translated into an adequate knowledge level [44]. Evidently, an Italian study predominantly involving elderly people (mean age 76.6 ± 6.5) demonstrated a very high extent of positive attitudes and acceptance (92.7%) towards COVID-19 vaccination [45]. Moreover, the tendency of the older adults to read newspapers and follow cable channels regularly may have further contributed to their superior understanding of COVID-19 vaccines.…”

Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among the Adult Population of Bangladesh Using the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior Model

“…A global study conducted in 19 countries in June 2020 found that 71.5% of participants were likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19 [11]. A recent study conducted among older adults from southern Italy reported that 92.7% participants were willing to be vaccinated, with a similarly high acceptance rate of 91.9% reported among Italian undergraduate students [12,13]. Comparable findings were observed in other countries, including Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and China, where acceptancy rates ranged from 67% to 91% [14][15][16][17][18].…”

A New Infodemiological Approach Through Google Trends: Longitudinal Analysis of COVID-19 Scientific and Infodemic Names in Italy

“…Finally, we observed that, after the first wave, the general web interest in the pandemic has steadily declined until nowadays. As noted in other papers, web interest has shifted to related and more practical topics 7/14 including smart working and learning 22,23 , drug treatments 24 , vaccines 17,25 , and green-pass 26 . A similar but in some respects worse scenario was observed for COVID-19 variants of concern (VOCs).…”