Exploration of attitudes regarding uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among vaccine hesitant adults in the UK: a qualitative analysis

Abstract

Background The aim of this work was to explore barriers and facilitators to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and to explore views and reactions to efforts to improve vaccine uptake among vaccine hesitant individuals. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people between the age of 18–29 years who had not had a COVID-19 vaccine, and those between 30 and 49 years who had not had a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Results A total of 70 participants took part in the study, 35 participants had received one dose, and 35 had not been vaccinated. Participants described a willingness to be vaccinated to keep themselves and those around them safe and to avoid restrictions. Barriers to uptake included: (1) perceived lack of need for COVID-19 vaccinations, (2) concerns about the efficacy of vaccinations, (3) concerns about safety, and (4) access issues. Uptake appeared to be influenced by age and health status, trust in government, and knowledge and understanding of science. Introduction of vaccine passes may provide a motive for having a vaccine but may be viewed as coercive. Conclusion Participants were hesitant, rather than opposed, and had questions about their need for, and the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Young people did not consider themselves to be at risk of becoming ill from COVID-19, did not think the vaccination was effective in preventing transmission, and did not think sufficient research had been conducted regarding possible long-term side-effects. Concerns were exacerbated by a lack of trust in government, and misunderstanding of science. To promote uptake, public health campaigns should focus on the provision of information from trusted sources that explains the benefits of vaccination and addresses safety concerns more effectively. To overcome inertia in people with low levels of motivation to be vaccinated, appointments must be easily accessible.

Barriers and facilitators to vaccination uptake against COVID-19, influenza, and pneumococcal pneumonia in immunosuppressed adults with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: A qualitative interview study during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…IMID patient organisations were identified as a useful and trusted source of information in participants' decision-making process for vaccination in our study, which is consistent with recent survey [31]. Patients actively avoided taking vaccine information from social media, contrary to vaccine-hesitant individuals in the general public [23,33]. This highlights that different types of media may be viewed differently by IMID-patients when making vaccination decisions, which may be due to the IMID-specific considerations they have and the availability of IMID-specific information from patient charities.…”

“…Our findings align with the SAGE working group vaccine hesitancy matrix and a previous qualitative research study on vaccine hesitancy about vaccination against pneumococcal and seasonal flu vaccination in people with RA [21], with barriers and facilitators spanning contextual, individual/ group and vaccine/vaccination specific influences. Similar to other studies qualitatively exploring vaccine hesitancy in select population groups [22,23], we identified additional factors influencing the decision to be vaccinated that were specific to this patient group, such as concerns of vaccination inducing IMID-flare, as well as those specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as vaccination as an opportunity to end social restrictions. We also demonstrated how some barriers and facilitators differ from one vaccine to another.…”

Barriers and facilitators to the future uptake of regular COVID-19 booster vaccinations among young adults in the UK

“…Uptake of primary series (i.e., both doses) of COVID-19 vaccines in the UK reached 93.3% uptake of a first dose and 87.5% second doses by July 2022. 10 Many chose to vaccinate to protect personal and community health and alleviate living with COVID-19 public health measures; 11 however, variations in uptake were persistent and aligned with factors associated with intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. The COVID-19 Social Study found 36% of adults in the UK were vaccine hesitant, with low socio-economic status, being female, belonging to an ethnicity minority group, and not vaccinating against influenza during the previous influenza season identified as factors affecting receipt of COVID-19 vaccines.…”

Communicating about COVID-19 vaccine development and safety

“…Throughout the pandemic, how people perceive the threat posed by COVID-19 has been shown to vary based on a number of factors such as age [5], political ideology [6,7], and philosophical beliefs [8]. How people perceive the risk of COVID-19 matters as those who do not identify COVID-19 to be a serious threat are likely to undervalue the benefits of vaccination [4] and are therefore less likely to choose to receive a vaccine [9][10][11][12]. Furthermore, people who do not consider COVID-19 to present a serious threat may also be reluctant to receive a vaccine because they are more likely to believe that they are more at risk from potential harms from vaccination than from acquiring COVID-19 [4,9,10].…”