COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality in Social Networks: Does It Influence Vaccine Hesitancy?

Jagdish Khubchandani, Sushil Sharma, James H. Price, Michael J. Wiblishauser and Fern J. Webb
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Jagdish Khubchandani: Department of Public Health Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
Sushil Sharma: Miller College of Business, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA
James H. Price: School of Population Health, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
Michael J. Wiblishauser: School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development, University of Houston, Victoria, TX 77901, USA
Fern J. Webb: Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-6

Abstract: The impact of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among family and friends on vaccination preferences is not well explored. A valid and reliable questionnaire was deployed online via mTurk to recruit a national random sample of adult Americans to understand COVID-19 vaccination preferences and its relationship with COVID-19 infection in social networks. A total of 1602 individuals participated in the study where the majority had taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (79%) and almost a tenth were planning to do so (10%) or did not want to take the vaccine (11%). Compared to those who knew family members or friends affected by COVID-19, those who did not know anyone infected with (AOR = 3.20), hospitalized for (AOR = 3.60), or died of COVID-19 (AOR = 2.97) had statistically significantly higher odds of refusing the vaccines. Most strategies for reducing COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy focus on highlighting the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines. We suggest that the dangers of not getting the vaccine should also be emphasized as many people who do not know someone who was affected with COVID-19 are also hesitant towards vaccination. These individuals may not fully appreciate the morbidity and mortality impact of COVID-19 infections and the messaging can be tailored to highlight the risk of not having vaccines.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; vaccine; hesitancy; denial; behavior; immunization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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