COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Race/Ethnicity, Trust and Fear

What is it about?

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have found that trust in vaccines, fear of infection, and race or ethnicity play a large role in whether or not people will get a COVID-19 vaccine, particularly when looking at socio-demographic factors. In the study, “COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Race/Ethnicity, Trust and Fear,” published in Clinical and Translational Science, researchers found that the majority of respondents who were surveyed in July and August of 2020 were not hesitant. Only about one in five (21%) reported vaccine hesitancy. However, when looking at socio-demographic factors, the findings were much more pronounced across age, sex, race and ethnicity, income and education. Research subjects who were younger, African American, lower income and those who had some college or a technical degree were more likely to report hesitancy as opposed to those who were older, white, higher income and who had a four-year college degree. Prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was highest among African Americans (50%), respondents with household income less than $25,000 (30.68%), people with some college (32.17%), people with little to no fear of infection from COVID-19 (62.50%), and people with low trust in vaccines in general (55.84%). In addition, the odds of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were: 2.42 greater for African American respondents compared to white respondents 1.67 greater for respondents with some college or a technical degree compared to respondents with a four-year degree 5.48 greater for respondents with no fear of COVID-19 infection compared to those who fear infection to a great extent 11.32 greater for respondents with low trust in vaccines in general

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The researchers emphasized that understanding and minimizing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is critical to population health and minimizing health inequities, which continue to be brought into stark relief by the pandemic.