Vaccine Production Process: How Much Does the General Population Know about This Topic? A Web-Based Survey

Abstract

Background: Vaccine hesitancy has been recognized as a major global health threat by the World Health Organization. Many studies have investigated vaccine safety as a determinant for vaccine hesitancy; however, not much attention has been paid to vaccine production and quality control during the vaccine production process or whether knowledge about this topic may influence vaccine confidence. The aim of this study was to characterize the common knowledge about the vaccine production process. Methods: A freely accessible online questionnaire was developed on Google Modules and disseminated through social networks. A descriptive analysis of the collected answers was performed, and the chi-square test was used to assess significant differences for the sociodemographic characteristics of the study population (age, gender, work or education and training in the healthcare setting, minor offspring). A binary logistic regression model was performed considering these socio-demographic categories as independent variables. Results: The number of collected questionnaire was 135. Most of the participants (127/135, 94.1%) were aware that quality control measures are carried out during manufacturing, although some knowledge gaps emerged in specific aspects of the vaccine production process, without statistically significant differences between age groups. Working in the healthcare setting or being educated in healthcare may be considered predictors for a better understanding that more than 50% of the production time is spent on quality control (AOR = 3.43; 95% CI: 1.84–8.14, p = 0.01) and that considering quality control performed during the vaccine production process is adequate for avoiding contamination (AOR = 7.90; 95% CI: 0.97–64.34; p = 0.05). Conclusions: This study allowed for a characterization of common knowledge about the vaccine production process. It highlighted the need to implement specific strategies to spread correct information about the vaccine production process. This study may contribute to increased confidence and trust in vaccines and vaccination among the general population.

The association between social media use and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in China: A web-based cross-sectional survey

“…Delay in acceptance or refusal of the available vaccines, known as “vaccine hesitancy”, 4 is a threat to the progress of vaccination programs and one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 listed by WHO. 5 The existing literature has reported many factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy including the concerns of the safety and effectiveness of rapidly-developed vaccines, 6 lack of knowledge about diseases and vaccines, 7 and lack of recommendations from medical personnel. 7 However, the role of social media has been relatively neglected.…”

The Credibility of Health Information Sources as Predictors of Attitudes toward Vaccination—The Results from a Longitudinal Study in Poland

“…The problem of expanding vaccine rejection has begun to be so widespread that it became the subject of many studies aimed at understanding the sources and correlations of attitudes toward vaccination. Their results have shown that vaccine hesitancy may be related to individual factors such as religious orthodoxy, individualistic/hierarchical worldviews or conspiratorial thinking [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Quality and Safety of Vaccines Manufacturing: An Online Survey on Attitudes and Perceptions of Italian Internet Users

“…Particularly, the statistically significant differences concerning the vaccine components among the group of people working/educated in the healthcare setting and those who were not are relevant: the HC respondents resulted more confidently about the vaccine components. This is a very relevant finding considering that healthcare workers (HCWs) are often referred to as the most trusted source of vaccine-related information [11,12]; in our previous study, good levels of knowledge about vaccine manufacturing were found [5]. On the other hand, other factors may negatively influence healthcare attitudes toward vaccines.…”

“…Less attention addressed safety and quality issues during vaccine production. In a recent study in Italy, the knowledge on this topic was investigated [5]. As a matter of fact, the manufacturing process of vaccines is a complex process people are not completely aware of.…”