Vaccine Hesitancy and Trust in the Scientific Community in Italy: Comparative Analysis from Two Recent Surveys

Abstract

Vaccination rates in Italy fell until 2015 because of unfounded safety concerns. Public education and a 2017 law on mandatory vaccination have boosted rates since then. The aim of our study is to explore how trust in the scientific community and attitudes towards vaccines have changed in the period of 2017-2019 in Italy. Data were extracted from the Italian section of the 2017 and 2019 editions of the European Social Survey (ESS). We compared the two surveys highlighting changes in public opinion on vaccines. A descriptive analysis of the socio-cultural variables according to the answers provided to key questions on the harmfulness of vaccines was conducted. Differences between percentages were tested by using the χ² test. The association between the opinion about the harmfulness of vaccines and trust in the scientific community was analyzed through a logistic regression model. Compared to ESS8, ESS9 showed an increase in the percentage of respondents disagreeing with the harmfulness of vaccines. Trust in the scientific community raised in the period from 2017 to 2019 (59% vs. 69.6%). Higher education was significantly associated with disagreement regarding the harmfulness of vaccines (odds ratio (OR) = 2.41; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.75-3.31), the strongest predictor was trust in the scientific community (OR = 10.47; 95% CI 7.55-14.52). In Italy, trust in the scientific community and in vaccinations has grown significantly in recent years, indicating a paradigm shift in public opinion compared to the past. Central actions and effective public communication strategies might reduce vaccine hesitancy and could be essential to garner public trust.

Keywords: European Social Survey; public opinion; scientific community; trust; vaccination; vaccine hesitancy.

Figure 1

Comparison of the opinion concerning the statement ‘‘Vaccines are harmful and expose people to various diseases” in the European Social Surveys round 8 (2017) and round 9 (2019).

Figure 2

Comparison of the opinion concerning the statement ‘‘‘With regard to vaccines, recommendations from the scientific community can be trusted” in the European Social Surveys round 8 (2017) and round 9 (2019).

Figure 3

Comparison opinions concerning the statement ‘‘With regard to vaccines, recommendations from the scientific community can be trusted” (a) among those who consider vaccines to be safe and (b) among those who consider vaccines to be harmful in European Social Surveys Round 8 (2017) and Round 9 (2019).

Figure 3

Comparison opinions concerning the statement ‘‘With regard to vaccines, recommendations from the scientific community can be trusted” (a) among those who consider vaccines to be safe and (b) among those who consider vaccines to be harmful in European Social Surveys Round 8 (2017) and Round 9 (2019).

Figure 4

Marginal probability of disagreeing about the harmfulness of vaccines among those who do not trust the scientific community and those who do trust the scientific community in the two editions of the ESS survey (ESS8-2017 and ESS9-2019).