When Reality Bites: Local Deaths and Vaccine Take-Up

Yves Zenou, Corrado Giulietti and Michael Vlassopoulos

No 16791, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: In this study, we investigate whether COVID-19 deaths that occurred before vaccination rollouts impact subsequent vaccination take-ups. We used data on local vaccination rates and COVID-19-related deaths from England measured at high geographic granularity. We found that vaccination take-up as of November 2021 was positively associated with pre-vaccine COVID-19-related deaths, controlling for demographic, economic, and health-related characteristics of the localities, while including geographic fixed effects. In addition, the share of ethnic minorities in a locality was negatively associated with vaccination rates, and that localities with a larger share of ethnic minorities increased their vaccination rates if they get exposed to more COVID-related-deaths. Further evidence on vaccination intention at the individual level from a representative sample corroborated these patterns. Overall, our evidence suggests that social proximity to victims of the disease triggers a desire to take protective measures against it.

Keywords: Vaccination hesitancy; Covid-19; Social interactions; Information; Behavior change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H51 I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-12
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Related works:
Journal Article: When reality bites: Local deaths and vaccine take-up (2023)
Working Paper: When Reality Bites: Local Deaths and Vaccine Take-up (2022)
Working Paper: When Reality Bites: Local Deaths and Vaccine Take-Up (2021)
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