Willingness to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and attitudes toward vaccination in general

Background: High uptake of Covid-19 vaccination is required to reach herd immunity. Methods: A representative sample of 2,060 Belgians were surveyed in October 2020. Regression analyses identified the predictors associated with willingness to get vaccinated against Covid-19, and attitudes toward vaccination in general. Results: 34% of the participants reported that they will definitely get vaccinated against Covid-19 and 39% that they would probably. Intended uptake was strongly associated with age, opinion on the government's dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, medical risk, spoken language, gender, and to a lesser extent with having known someone who was hospitalised because of Covid-19. Similar predictors were identified for attitudes to vaccination in general. Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy was more marked in age groups below 54 years old. We further analysed a sample of 17% (N = 349) found favourable to vaccination in general but not willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19. They were mainly female, young, French speaking, slightly less educated, working, and did not belong to a Covid-19 risk group. They were very dissatisfied with the government's dealing with the pandemic, and did not know someone who was hospitalised because of Covid-19. Conclusions: Vaccine hesitancy was higher for Covid-19 vaccines than for other vaccines. The part of the population being convinced of the utility of vaccination in general but hesitant about the Covid-19 vaccine is a primary interest group for tailored communication campaigns in order to reach the vaccine coverage needed for herd immunity. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study found that 34% of Belgians are definite about getting vaccinated against Covid-19, with 39% stating a probable willingness. Various factors such as age, government handling of the pandemic, medical risk, and spoken language were associated with vaccination willingness. Those hesitant towards the Covid-19 vaccine were mainly young, female, French-speaking, with slightly lower education levels, and dissatisfied with the government's pandemic response.