US adults' reasons for changing their degree of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19

IntroductionCOVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce the risk of complications and hospitalizations due to this virus. When COVID-19 vaccines first became commercially available, roughly 30% of U.S. adults reported being hesitant to receive these newly developed vaccines, and 15% said they would not receive the vaccine. However, by May 2021, 19% of adults were vaccine-hesitant, and 13% refused to vaccinate against COVID-19. It is critical to understand why adults' degree of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 changed over time to plan for future pandemics and vaccination campaigns.MethodsWe conducted two waves of survey research over five months (January and May 2021) with a panel of 890 U.S. adults. One survey question assessed willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. The response option included a slider scale ranging from 0 (signifying complete unwillingness) to 10 (complete willingness). We asked participants whose willingness score changed by more than one point to report their rationale for their change in perceptions. We conducted a conventional content analysis on all qualitative responses.ResultsWe analyzed qualitative responses for 289 participants, 54.7% of whom had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 by May 2021. Among those who remained unvaccinated, 36.1% reported increased willingness to vaccinate. The most commonly cited reasons for becoming more willing to receive the vaccine include believing that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, protecting against the pandemic, and desiring to return to pre-pandemic life. Reasons for increased COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy include vaccine safety concerns, the low perceived need for the vaccine, distrust in how COVID-19 vaccines are made and of larger institutions such as the government and pharmaceutical companies, and concerns about vaccine effectiveness.ConclusionFindings illuminate the rationale behind individuals' changes in their degree of willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. It is critical to incorporate these considerations in future vaccine rollout initiatives to increase the public's vaccine confidence.