Citizen Stance towards Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination and Vaccine Booster Doses: A Study in Colombia, El Salvador and Spain

Abstract

The infections and deaths resulting from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) triggered the need for some governments to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory. The present study aims to analyze the position of 3026 adults in Colombia, El Salvador, and Spain regarding the possibility of making COVID-19 vaccine mandatory and the intention to be vaccinated with the booster or possible successive doses. Data from an online survey conducted from August to December 2021 among a non-representative sample of Spanish-speaking countries were collected. Multinomial Logistic Regression Models were used. A total of 77.4% of Colombians were in favor of mandatory vaccination compared to 71.5% of Salvadorians and 65.4% of Spaniards (p < 0.000). Women and people over 65 years of age were the groups most in favor of making the vaccine mandatory (p < 0.000). A total of 79.4% said they had received a third dose or would intend to receive the third dose or future doses, if necessary, compared with 9.4% who expressed doubts and 9.9% who refused to be vaccinated or did not intend to be vaccinated. Among the measures that could be taken to motivate vaccination, 63.0% and 60.6% were in favor of requiring a negative test to enter any place of leisure or work, respectively, compared to 16.2% in favor of suspension from work without pay. The acceptance of mandatory vaccination and of third or future doses varies greatly according to sociodemographic characteristics and work environment. As such, it is recommended that policy makers adapt public health strategies accordingly.

Parents’ attitudes toward childhood COVID-19 immunization in Croatia: a multicenter cross-sectional study

“…Interestingly, parents’ attitudes toward childhood vaccination were not significantly different in Zagreb, Split, and Osijek, which contradicts the lower adult vaccination rates recorded in Split ( 35 ). Similarly, we did not find a significant association between childhood vaccination acceptance rate and parents’ education, which contradicts the negative correlation between adult vaccination rates and education ( 36 , 37 ). We also found no significant association between parents’ intention to vaccinate their child and parents’ sex, place of residence, household size, or monthly income.…”

COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Acceptance: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Out of the 50 included studies, 32 were published in 2022, while 18 were published in 2021. The total number of participants among the 50 included studies was 194,410 subjects from 23 different counties across 6 WHO regions, with only 1 study conducted across 2 different regions [ 36 ]. Most studies were cross-sectional except 4 longitudinal survey studies [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] and 2 retrospective cohort studies [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Why Some People Are Hesitant to Receive COVID-19 Boosters: A Systematic Review

“…Previous studies examined numerous factors that affected booster acceptance, including socioeconomic (e.g., occupation, education level, and income), demographic (e.g., gender, age, and ethnicity), geographical (e.g., urban/rural), psychological (e.g., self-efficacy, sense of control, and optimism), confidence-related (e.g., information source trust, vaccine effectiveness and safety concerns, and vaccine conspiracy beliefs) and experiential (e.g., prior COVID-19 infection, loss of peer/family to COVID-19, influenza vaccination status, and vaccine side effects) influences [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. The strongest predictors of COVID-19 booster acceptance appear to be a history of chronic disease, trust in vaccine effectiveness, age older than 45, and the male gender [ 17 ].…”