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. 2022 Jan 3;12(1):e057127.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057127.

Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: a cross-sectional analysis-implications for public health communications in Australia

Joanne Enticott  1   2 , Jaskirath Singh Gill  3 , Simon L Bacon  4   5 , Kim L Lavoie  4   6 , Daniel S Epstein  7 , Shrinkhala Dawadi  3 , Helena J Teede  3   2 , Jacqueline Boyle  3   8 ; iCARE Study Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: a cross-sectional analysis-implications for public health communications in Australia

Joanne Enticott et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To examine SARS-CoV-2 vaccine confidence, attitudes and intentions in Australian adults as part of the iCARE Study.

Design and setting: Cross-sectional online survey conducted when free COVID-19 vaccinations first became available in Australia in February 2021.

Participants: Total of 1166 Australians from general population aged 18-90 years (mean 52, SD of 19).

Main outcome measures: Primary outcome: responses to question 'If a vaccine for COVID-19 were available today, what is the likelihood that you would get vaccinated?'.Secondary outcome: analyses of putative drivers of uptake, including vaccine confidence, socioeconomic status and sources of trust, derived from multiple survey questions.

Results: Seventy-eight per cent reported being likely to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Higher SARS-CoV-2 vaccine intentions were associated with: increasing age (OR: 2.01 (95% CI 1.77 to 2.77)), being male (1.37 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.72)), residing in least disadvantaged area quintile (2.27 (95% CI 1.53 to 3.37)) and a self-perceived high risk of getting COVID-19 (1.52 (95% CI 1.08 to 2.14)). However, 72% did not believe they were at a high risk of getting COVID-19. Findings regarding vaccines in general were similar except there were no sex differences. For both the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and vaccines in general, there were no differences in intentions to vaccinate as a function of education level, perceived income level and rurality. Knowing that the vaccine is safe and effective and that getting vaccinated will protect others, trusting the company that made it and vaccination recommended by a doctor were reported to influence a large proportion of the study cohort to uptake the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Seventy-eight per cent reported the intent to continue engaging in virus-protecting behaviours (mask wearing, social distancing, etc) postvaccine.

Conclusions: Most Australians are likely to receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Key influencing factors identified (eg, knowing vaccine is safe and effective, and doctor's recommendation to get vaccinated) can inform public health messaging to enhance vaccination rates.

Keywords: COVID-19; infection control; preventive medicine; public health; respiratory infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: SLB has received consultancy fees from Merck for the development of behavior change continuing education modules, speaker fees from Novartis and Janssen and has served on advisory boards for Bayer, Sanofi and Sojecci Inc, none of which are related to the current article. KLL has served on the advisory board for Schering-Plough, Takeda, AbbVie, Almirall, Janssen, GSK, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Sojecci Inc, and has received sponsorship for investigator-generated research grants from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and AbbVie, speaker fees from GSK, AstraZeneca, Astellas, Novartis, Takeda, AbbVie, Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Pfizer, Xfacto and Air Liquide, and support for educational materials from Merck, none of which are related to the current article. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vaccine confidence index: responses to the questions about if general vaccines are safe, important, effective, and compatible with your religious beliefs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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