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. 2022 Jan:154:106885.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106885. Epub 2021 Nov 12.

Who is likely to vacillate in their COVID-19 vaccination decision? Free-riding intention and post-positive reluctance

Marta Caserotti  1 , Teresa Gavaruzzi  2 , Paolo Girardi  3 , Alessandra Tasso  4 , Chiara Buizza  5 , Valentina Candini  6 , Cristina Zarbo  7 , Flavia Chiarotti  8 , Sonia Brescianini  9 , Gemma Calamandrei  10 , Fabrizio Starace  11 , Giovanni de Girolamo  12 , Lorella Lotto  13
Affiliations

Who is likely to vacillate in their COVID-19 vaccination decision? Free-riding intention and post-positive reluctance

Marta Caserotti et al. Prev Med. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Despite the actual availability of COVID-19 vaccines to combat the pandemic, many people are still vacillating in their decision to vaccinate. In this study, we considered the effect of two relevant contextual issues on vaccination intention: the number of people infected with COVID-19 is increasing, and the pace of vaccination is gaining speed. Specifically, we hypothesized that having already contracted SARS-CoV-2 (post-positive reluctance) could lead people to underestimate the importance of vaccination. Moreover, as the number of vaccinated people increases, more hesitant people could fall into the free-riding intention category, benefitting from the immunity provided by others' vaccinations. Vaccine hesitancy becomes more critical as the vaccination campaign proceeds: at one point, it will be inevitable to deal with hesitant people. This study is part of a WHO Regional Office for Europe project and involved a representative sample of 5006 Italians interviewed in January-February 2021. In case of post-positive reluctance, both young age and female gender increase vaccine hesitancy, while a high level of education reduces free-riding intention. Considering post-positive reluctance and free riding, a protective effect on hesitancy is associated with negative affective states, adherence to protective behaviors, trust in health information sources, and resilience. In contrast, increased vaccine hesitancy is associated with a high level of conspiracy-mindedness and trust in media information sources. Recognizing and studying the post-positive reluctance and the phenomenon of free-riding people can help us to become more efficient in combatting the virus.

Keywords: COVID-19; Free-riding intention; Post-positive reluctance; Vaccination hesitancy; Vaccination intention.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no competing interests to be disclosed.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Marginal distribution of the baseline VH, and due to post-positive reluctance and to free riding intention.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pairwise marginal distribution and Spearman's correlation§ between 11 regression scores resulted by the EFAs. §Pairwise correlation test:*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01,***p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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