 Understanding COVID-19 vaccine demand and hesitancy: A nationwide online survey in ChinaYulan Lin, Zhijian Hu, Qinjian Zhao, Haridah Alias, Mahmoud Danaee and Li Ping Wong PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2020, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-22 Abstract: Background: This study attempts to understand coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine demand and hesitancy by assessing the public’s vaccination intention and willingness-to-pay (WTP). Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines produced in China and preference for domestically-made or foreign-made vaccines was also investigated. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional, self-administered online survey was conducted on 1–19 May 2020. The health belief model (HBM) was used as a theoretical framework for understanding COVID-19 vaccination intent and WTP. Results: A total of 3,541 complete responses were received. The majority reported a probably yes intent (54.6%), followed by a definite yes intent (28.7%). The perception that vaccination decreases the chances of getting COVID-19 under the perceived benefit construct (OR = 3.14, 95% CI 2.05–4.83) and not being concerned about the efficacy of new COVID-19 vaccines under the perceived barriers construct (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.31–2.09) were found to have the highest significant odds of a definite intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) of WTP for COVID-19 vaccine was CNY¥200/US$28 (IQR CNY¥100–500/USD$14–72). The highest marginal WTP for the vaccine was influenced by socio-economic factors. The majority were confident (48.7%) and completely confident (46.1%) in domestically-made COVID-19 vaccine. 64.2% reported a preference for a domestically-made over foreign-made COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the utility of HBM constructs in understanding COVID-19 vaccination intent and WTP. It is important to improve health promotion and reduce the barriers to COVID-19 vaccination. Author summary: This study investigated vaccine demand and hesitancy by assessing the intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 and willingness-to-pay. We found that a considerable proportion of the public in China has a definite intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; a higher proportion expressed a probable intention. Perceived benefits and barriers to vaccination (namely vaccine efficacy and adverse event concerns) of the health belief model constructs were significant predictors of COVID-19 vaccination intent. A substantial proportion was concerned about fake or faulty COVID-19 vaccines; however, this was not a significant predictor of vaccination intention. The willingness-to-pay for the COVID-19 was determined and was found to be positively associated with income. Higher confidence in domestically-made COVID-19 vaccines was also found in this study. The preference for domestically-made over foreign-made COVID-19 vaccines indicates that a future COVID-19 vaccine developed by domestic companies will receive a favourable response from the public in China.The findings of this study provide useful guidance for tailored interventions to enhance the acceptance of a new COVID-19 vaccine once it is available. Promotional messages framing the benefit of vaccination and concerns about new vaccine safety to enhance vaccine uptake is warranted. Date: 2020 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pntd00:0008961 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008961 Access Statistics for this article More articles in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases from Public Library of Science |
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