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. 2021 Apr 16;16(4):e0250123.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250123. eCollection 2021.

COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A longitudinal study

Ariel Fridman  1 , Rachel Gershon  1 , Ayelet Gneezy  1
Affiliations

COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy: A longitudinal study

Ariel Fridman et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

How do attitudes toward vaccination change over the course of a public health crisis? We report results from a longitudinal survey of United States residents during six months (March 16 -August 16, 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to past research suggesting that the increased salience of a disease threat should improve attitudes toward vaccines, we observed a decrease in intentions of getting a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available. We further found a decline in general vaccine attitudes and intentions of getting the influenza vaccine. Analyses of heterogeneity indicated that this decline is driven by participants who identify as Republicans, who showed a negative trend in vaccine attitudes and intentions, whereas Democrats remained largely stable. Consistent with research on risk perception and behavior, those with less favorable attitudes toward a COVID-19 vaccination also perceived the virus to be less threatening. We provide suggestive evidence that differential exposure to media channels and social networks could explain the observed asymmetric polarization between self-identified Democrats and Republicans.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Vaccination attitudes and intentions by political affiliation (March–August 2020).
Points represent means, and error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. All scale responses range from 1 to 7.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Perceived threat of COVID-19 by political affiliation (March–August 2020).
Points represent means, and error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. All scale responses range from 1 to 7.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Trust in broad institutions by political affiliation (March–August 2020).
Points represent means, and error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. All scale responses range from 1 to 7.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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