The Willingness of Elderly Taiwanese Individuals to Accept COVID-19 Vaccines after the First Local Outbreak

Vaccination is the most effective intervention to prevent infection and subsequent complications from SARS-CoV-2. Because of their multiple comorbidities, the elderly population experienced the highest number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although in most countries, older people have top priority for COVID-19 vaccines, their actual willingness and attitudes regarding vaccination are still unclear. Thus, we conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate their willingness, attitudes, awareness, and knowledge of COVID-19 through a web-based questionnaire after the first local outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan. A total of 957 questionnaires were completed, and 74.9% of elderly individuals were likely to receive COVID-19 vaccines. The results from a multiple logistic regression demonstrated that older people who need to visit the outpatient department and have a high level of concern about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines are prone to having a negative willingness to accept COVID-19 vaccines. The following items related to awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic were attributed to the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines: understanding the risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2, understanding the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine for protecting others, and safety of COVID-19 vaccines is a key factor for you to accept them. Furthermore, a positive association between COVID-19 vaccination and attitudes toward accepting booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was observed. Our results show that these factors could affect the willingness of older people to accept COVID-19 vaccines and that they are important for policymakers and medical staff to develop vaccination plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automated summary

This study investigated the willingness, attitudes, awareness, and knowledge of COVID-19 vaccination among elderly individuals in Taiwan. The results showed that a significant proportion of the elderly population was willing to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Older individuals who needed to visit outpatient departments and had concerns about the safety of the vaccines were less likely to accept them. Factors such as understanding the risk of infection, effectiveness of the vaccines, willingness to protect others, and perceived safety were associated with vaccine acceptance. The study highlights the importance of these factors for policymakers and medical staff in developing vaccination plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.