Acceptability of a COVID-19 vaccine among adults in the United States: How many people would get vaccinated?

• Published in: Vaccine Vol. 38; no. 42; pp. 6500 - 6507
• Main Authors: Reiter, Paul L., Pennell, Michael L., Katz, Mira L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 29.09.2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Acceptability; Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Betacoronavirus - drug effects; Betacoronavirus - immunology; Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity; Coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - immunology; Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control; Coronavirus Infections - psychology; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health insurance; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Immunization; Immunogenicity, Vaccine; Infections; Male; Middle Aged; Pandemics; Pandemics - prevention & control; Patient Compliance - psychology; Patient Compliance - statistics & numerical data; Patient Safety; Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology; Pneumonia, Viral - immunology; Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; Risk Assessment - trends; SARS-CoV-2; Treatment Refusal - psychology; Treatment Refusal - statistics & numerical data; United States - epidemiology; Vaccination - psychology; Vaccine; Vaccine development; Vaccines; Viral diseases; Viral Vaccines - administration & dosage; United States; United States > US; COVID-19; Vaccine; Adults; Coronavirus
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.08.043

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Several prophylactic vaccines against COVID-19 are currently in development, yet little is known about people’s acceptability of a COVID-19 vaccine. We conducted an online survey of adults ages 18 and older in the United States (n = 2,006) in May 2020. Multivariable relative risk regression identified correlates of participants’ willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., vaccine acceptability). Overall, 69% of participants were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Participants were more likely to be willing to get vaccinated if they thought their healthcare provider would recommend vaccination (RR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.49–2.02) or if they were moderate (RR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02–1.16) or liberal (RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07–1.22) in their political leaning. Participants were also more likely to be willing to get vaccinated if they reported higher levels of perceived likelihood getting a COVID-19 infection in the future (RR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09), perceived severity of COVID-19 infection (RR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.04–1.11), or perceived effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine (RR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.40–1.52). Participants were less likely to be willing to get vaccinated if they were non-Latinx black (RR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.74–0.90) or reported a higher level of perceived potential vaccine harms (RR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98). Many adults are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, though acceptability should be monitored as vaccine development continues. Our findings can help guide future efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptability (and uptake if a vaccine becomes available).