True Stories of Hooking Up During Covid-19

Translational research Abstract While efficacious vaccines have been developed to inoculate against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARS-CoV-2; also known as COVIDpublic vaccine hesitancy could still undermine efforts to combat the pandemic. Employing a survey of adult Americans recruited via the Lucid platform, we examined the relationships between vaccine attributes, proposed policy interventions such as financial incentives, and misinformation on public vaccination preferences. The vaccine manufacturer had no influence on public willingness to vaccinate. We also found no evidence that belief in misinformation about COVID treatments was positively associated with vaccine hesitancy. The findings have implications for public health strategies intending to increase levels of community vaccination. Despite the growing availability and efficacy, however, vaccine hesitancy remains a potential impediment to widespread community uptake. The government, which then augmented its vaccination efforts with incentive programs, attributed unexpected resistance to online misinformation 3. Research on vaccine hesitancy in the context of viruses such as influenza and measles, mumps, and rubella, suggests that misinformation surrounding vaccines is prevalent 45. Emerging research on COVID vaccine preferences, however, points to vaccine attributes as dominant determinants of attitudes toward vaccination.

Conceptual Background To optimize the focus of future public information campaigns in The Netherlands promoting the uptake of vaccines among adults and children, we quantified the contribution of several attributes en route for the vaccination decision. The data was analysed by means of panel assort logit models. Of less importance was the risk of mild vaccine-related side-effects and both population and local immunization coverage. Interestingly, participants were more agreeable to vaccinate when uptake among the population or family and friends was high, indicating that social influence after that social norms plays a role. Conclusions Vaccine effectiveness and disease severity are key attributes in vaccination decision-making designed for adults making a decision for themselves and for parents who decide designed for their children. Hence, public information campaigns for both adult and child immunization should primarily focus on these two attributes.