French Study Shows One-Third People May Reject COVID-19 Vaccine

New research shows that one in three (29%) working-age adults in France opposed being vaccinated against the virus. The remaining two-thirds (71%) of people would get vaccinated based on its characteristics such as effectiveness and country oforigin.

The authors state that mass vaccination in France would be successful if they use vaccines with high levels of effectiveness and those produced in the USA or the European Union. Emphasis on the collective benefits of herd immunity will also be an added benefit.

The study was conducted in France, where vaccine skepticism is generally high. It was also done after the first wave of COVID-19 before highly effective vaccines were developed, which may have affected people's attitudes.

Herd immunity occurs when more than 60% of a country's population is immune to a disease due to infection or vaccination. To reach herd immunity, mass vaccination is required.

The study consisted of a representative sample of 1,942 adults aged 18-64 years in France using a two-part online questionnaire.

Background information on participants' past vaccination behavior and their risk of having a severe case of COVID-19 were collected in the first part. In the second part, participants had to select options relating to hypothetical vaccine scenarios.

The scenario questions were based on four characteristics - Efficacy (50%, 80%, 90%, or 100%), risk of serious side effects (1/10,000 or 1/100,000 vaccinated people), country of manufacturer (European Union, USA, or China), and site of vaccination (GP practice, local pharmacy, or mass vaccination centre).

Dr. Verity Watson explained that the study design separated people into two groups - those willing to accept vaccination based on its characteristics and those who would always refuse one. This information is important for designing mass vaccination campaigns because it shows how sensitive uptake is to the campaign's design.

The authors found that 650 participants (nearly 1/3rd) refused any COVID-19 vaccine. Participants who did not outright refuse a vaccine (71%, 1,382/1,942) hesitated because of worry about vaccines' effectiveness and the country of origin.

Although attitudes may have changed since July 2020 with the approval of several vaccines and the second wave of COVID-19, the findings suggest that communicating the collective benefits of herd immunity reduced people's hesitancy about being vaccinated.

In a scenario with European Union manufactured vaccine with 90% effectiveness and a low risk of serious side effects, vaccine hesitancy minimized with a 61% acceptance rate. Vaccine hesitancy was the highest with a 27% acceptance rate in a scenario with Chinese-manufactured vaccines with 50% effectiveness and a risk of serious side effects.

The authors suggest that the collective benefits of herd immunity should be emphasized as part of mass vaccination strategies, as communicating these was associated with significantly less COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Findings also showed that hesitancy and outright refusal to be vaccinated were higher among women, less-educated people, and who previously chose not to receive other recommended vaccinations. People aged 18-24 years and 55-64 years were less likely to refuse outright or be hesitant about accepting a vaccine than people aged 25-54.

The authors suggest communicating the collective benefits of herd immunity to people to reduce people's hesitancy about being vaccinated.

Source-Medindia