Understanding COVID-19 vaccine demand and hesitancy: A nationwide online survey in China.

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 vacc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: Yulan Lin, Zhijian Hu, Qinjian Zhao, Haridah Alias, Mahmoud Danaee, Li Ping Wong
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008961
https://doaj.org/article/20f406d3cd7b4a4e9dbde162ff30c682
Description
Summary: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.