1/3 of Americans who did not trust the coronavirus vaccine were vaccinated within 6 months
(Siegler et al / JAMA Network Open, 2021)
A third of Americans who did not want to be vaccinated against coronavirus before the start of vaccination received the vaccine in the next 6 months.
Also, another 37% of them announced their intention to be vaccinated in the near future.
The data were obtained by American doctors in a survey of 4,654 people conducted from August 2020 to April 2021.
The authors believe that doctors and scientists have an opportunity to get more people to get vaccinated against covid.
Before the pandemic, public confidence in scientists and medicine in the world was not absolute.
In 2019, about 70% of the population of different countries trusted researchers and doctors, and more than 75% of people considered vaccines to be effective and safe.
At the same time, poor countries were more supportive of vaccinations, which could not be said about Europeans.
The pandemic has exacerbated people's mistrust of vaccines. If in poor countries the indicators remained at the same level, and in the US they fell slightly.
Lack of information on clinical trial results and fear of side effects are among the main reasons for not vaccinating.
Now researchers led by Patrick S. Sullivan from the University of Georgia decided to look at how the mood of Americans in relation to vaccination against coronavirus has changed during the vaccination campaign.
It has been going on for almost a year, and during this time much has become known about both the side effects of vaccines and their effectiveness.
From August to December 2020, 4,654 Americans were asked if they planned to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Then, from March to April 2021, the study participants were asked whether they received the vaccine, and if not, whether they are going to be vaccinated in the near future.
At the beginning of the study, 69% of the participants planned to be vaccinated, and 31% of those surveyed did not want to be vaccinated.
In a second survey of those who wanted the vaccine, 54% were vaccinated, 39% were still going to do so, and only 7% changed their minds and refused the vaccine.
Among those who initially did not want to be vaccinated, 32% were vaccinated, 37% decided to get vaccinated in the future, and another 32% still refused the vaccine.
Thus, the attitude towards vaccines against coronavirus in society is labile.
Over time, a third of the respondents who did not want to be vaccinated received the medicine, and another third was going to be vaccinated in the near future.
The authors concluded that doctors and scientists have a chance to involve more people in the vaccination campaign.
Source:
- JAMA Network Open: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784480