Social Representations of Hesitant Brazilians about Vaccination against COVID-19

Keila Cristina Oliveira dos Santos, Maria de Fátima Junqueira-Marinho, Adriana Teixeira Reis, Karla Gonçalves Camacho, Marcio Fernandes Nehab, Dimitri Marques Abramov, Zina Maria Almeida de Azevedo, Livia Almeida de Menezes, Margarida dos Santos Salú, Carlos Eduardo da Silva Figueiredo, Maria Elisabeth Lopes Moreira, Zilton Farias Meira de Vasconcelos, Flavia Amendola Anisio de Carvalho, Livia de Rezende de Mello, Roberta Fernandes Correia, Saint Clair dos Santos Gomes Junior and Daniella Campelo Batalha Cox Moore ()
Additional contact information
Keila Cristina Oliveira dos Santos: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Maria de Fátima Junqueira-Marinho: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Adriana Teixeira Reis: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Karla Gonçalves Camacho: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Marcio Fernandes Nehab: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Dimitri Marques Abramov: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Zina Maria Almeida de Azevedo: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Livia Almeida de Menezes: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Margarida dos Santos Salú: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Carlos Eduardo da Silva Figueiredo: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Maria Elisabeth Lopes Moreira: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Zilton Farias Meira de Vasconcelos: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Flavia Amendola Anisio de Carvalho: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Livia de Rezende de Mello: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Roberta Fernandes Correia: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Saint Clair dos Santos Gomes Junior: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil
Daniella Campelo Batalha Cox Moore: National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF-FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro 22250-020, Brazil

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: Background: The control of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a great challenge. Understanding the thoughts and beliefs underlying vaccine hesitancy can help in the formulation of public policies. The present study aimed to analyze the social representations of hesitant Brazilians about vaccination against COVID-19. Methods: Qualitative research guided by the Theory of Social Representations, carried out through an online survey among Brazilian adults living in Brazil. The data were analyzed using the IRaMuTeQ software. Results: Of the 173,178 respondents, 10,928 were hesitant and declared reasons for vaccination hesitation. The analysis generated three classes: mistrust of the vaccine and underestimation of the severity of the pandemic; (dis)information and distrust of political involvement; and fear of adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusions: Social knowledge, presented by the representations apprehended in this study, demonstrates difficulty in discerning the reliability of information and a social imagination full of doubts and uncertainties. Understanding the internal dynamics of these groups, with their representations of the world, is important to propose policies and actions that echo and cause changes in the understanding of the role of immunization. It is essential to shed light on the sociological imagination so that gaps filled with false information can be dismantled and confronted with scientific knowledge accessible to the population.

Keywords: COVID-19; vaccine; COVID-19 vaccines; vaccine hesitancy; hesitancy determinants; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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