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. 2021 Jan 20;16(1):e0245907.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245907. eCollection 2021.

Converting the maybes: Crucial for a successful COVID-19 vaccination strategy

Katie Attwell  1   2 , Joshua Lake  3 , Joanne Sneddon  3 , Paul Gerrans  3 , Chris Blyth  2   4   5 , Julie Lee  3
Affiliations

Converting the maybes: Crucial for a successful COVID-19 vaccination strategy

Katie Attwell et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Broad community acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccination will be critical for effectively halting the spread of the virus. In this study, we focus on factors that differentiate those who are undecided from those who are either willing or unwilling to accept a prospective COVID-19 vaccine.

Methods: An online survey in May 2020 assessed Australian adults' willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine (yes, maybe, no). A multinomial logistical regression of responses (N = 1,313) was used to identify correlates of vaccine willingness between the three groups.

Results: 65% were willing to vaccinate, with 27% being in the 'maybe' category. Respondents were more likely to be in the 'maybe' than the 'yes' group when they perceived COVID-19 to be less severe, had less trust in science, were less willing to vaccinate for influenza, and were female. They were more likely to be in the 'maybe' than 'no' group when they perceived COVID-19 as severe, and less likely to be a hoax, had more trust in science, and greater willingness to vaccinate for influenza. A repeat of the survey in November 2020 with a subset of participants found fewer of them saying yes to the vaccine (56%) and more saying maybe (31%).

Conclusions: The effectiveness of any COVID-19 vaccine rollout will be reliant on maximizing uptake. The significant number of people who remain undecided about whether or not to get a COVID-19 vaccine, despite the ongoing devastating consequences of the virus for individuals, communities, and economies, is concerning. Our findings aid current research seeking to inform policy regarding how to convince the undecided to vaccinate.

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Conflict of interest statement

Katie Attwell has previously been employed by the Immunisation Alliance of Western Australia to conduct social research using an unrestricted grant from Sanofi Pasteur. She has received travel, accommodation and conference registration support from GSK, and travel, accommodation, and Response to Reviewers speaker fees from Merck. She is currently in receipt of an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Government, DE190100158. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors have no conflict to declare.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Australians’ intentions to get a COVID-19 vaccine if it was available today.
N = 1,316.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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