Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Vaccine Hesitancy in Central Texas Immediately Prior to COVID-19 Vaccine Availability

John R. Litaker, Naomi Tamez, Carlos Lopez Bray, Wesley Durkalski and Richard Taylor
Additional contact information
John R. Litaker: Office of Population Health and Science, The Litaker Group, LLC, Austin, TX 78716, USA
Naomi Tamez: Office of Population Health, Sendero Health Plans, Inc., Austin, TX 78741, USA
Carlos Lopez Bray: Office of Population Health, Sendero Health Plans, Inc., Austin, TX 78741, USA
Wesley Durkalski: Sendero Health Plans, Inc., Austin, TX 78741, USA
Richard Taylor: Undergraduate Public Health Program, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Vaccine-induced herd immunity remains the best opportunity for ending the COVID-19 pandemic. However, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is a real concern. In this paper, we report on vaccine hesitancy in Central Texas immediately prior to the release of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in late December 2020. A total of 1648 individuals 18 years or older with health insurance living in Central Texas completed a survey on sociodemographic factors and plans to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine. Of the respondents, 64.1% planned to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine. Logistic regression identified the following sociodemographic factors associated with vaccine hesitancy: Black or African American race (POR: 0.351, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.211, 0.584), female sex (POR: 0.650, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.518, 0.816), age of 35–49 years old (POR: 0.689, p = 0.004, 95% CI: 0.534, 0.890), annual household income of less than US$10,000 (POR: 0.565, p = 0.041, 95% CI: 0.327, 0.976), a high school education or less (POR: 0.565, p = 0.001, 95% CI: 0.401, 0.795), and a high school education but less than a 4-year college degree (POR: 0.572, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.442, 0.739). Real-world evidence provided by individuals on plans to get vaccinated can reveal COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy associated heterogeneity.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; vaccine hesitancy; vaccination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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