Table 2.
Participant willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccination and supporting themes
| Themea | n (%) | Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Yes (willing to get vaccine) | 385 (42.7%) | |
| Protect self | 148 (38.4%) | “Yes, to keep myself safe” “I will most likely get it because I don't want covid” |
| To protect others | 95 (24.7%) | “Yes because it's for the safety of others” “Yes, absolutely! Because I want to protect myself, my family & friends” |
| Vaccines are important | 55 (14.3%) | “Yes vaccines are safe and reliable…” “YES absolutely!!!! i believe herd immunity is crucial to the wellbeing of a lot of people…” |
| To return to normalcy | 45 (11.7%) | “I will get it so that I can hopefully go back to my normal life” “yes i want to go back to school and keep myself and others safe” |
| Vaccine is believed safe | 28 (7.3%) | “Yes bc i will believe they've done enough testing for it to be safe” “Probably, I believe the FDA will approve it when it's trusted” |
| Stop worry | 24 (6.2%) | “Yes so I can stop worrying about catching it” “Yes, I want to live without being afraid of COVID” |
| Must get it for their job | 7 (1.8%) | “Yes because I'm taking care of patients” “Yes I work with kids” |
| Not committed/conditional willingness (e.g., “yes, if” or “depends”) | 300 (33.3%) | |
| If it is safe and recommended | 242 (80.7%) | “Yes, I will get it if it is recommended by public health officials. I trust the science and believe that people in public health will only recommend a vaccine that is safe” “I probably will if it has been shown to be effective and no or minimal side effects” |
| Political concerns | 39 (13.0%) | “Maybe, only if it is proven safe by reliable scientists and not a political move” “I will get it only if multiple reliable sources say that it is safe (the White House does not qualify)” |
| If required | 15 (5.0%) | “But if it's required then yeah” “I'm assuming I'll have to since I work in healthcare" |
| After vulnerable people get it | 9 (3.0%) | “…I'll wait for people who need it more to get it first” “I don't want to get it when it first comes out because there are more vulnerable people who need it more” |
| If they can afford it | 9 (3.0%) | “I would get it if it's covered by my insurance, otherwise I probably cant afford it” “Yes I will if it's free!” |
| No (unwilling to get vaccine) | 182 (20.2%) | |
| Not safe or trusted | 85 (46.7%) | “No because I don't believe it has gone through the necessary testing to make sure it's safe” “Hell no !!! I am not a lab rat!” |
| Political concerns | 11 (6.0%) | “No I don't trust the government” “No. i don't want to get a vaccine that hasn't been around for very long, plus there is no proof that the government isn't brainwashing us” |
| I'm healthy | 11 (6.0%) | “No I don't care to get it. I think my immune system is good” “No. Because I have not shown any signs or symptoms of Covid” |
| COVID-19 not real/not dangerous | 5 (2.7%) | “No, covid isn't deadly to my demographic and really is overblown” “hell nah cause covid is a whole scam” |
| Allergy/other health concern | 5 (2.7%) | “Every vaccine I have taken has given me a violent reaction” “No, I am highly allergic to some of the ingredients in vaccines” |
| Afraid of needles | 4 (2.2%) | “No I'm scared of needles” “Nope. I bloody hate needles.” |
| Had COVID-19 already | 4 (2.2%) | “No. I already went through it and don't feel a need for a vaccine.” “I will not be getting the vaccine. My family and I have already had COVID.” |
| Already taking precautions | 3 (1.6%) | “No. I haven't been out in public.” “No because it maybe pretty expensive and I can just stay inside” |
| Not sure | 35 (3.9%) | “I personally do not know.” |
a
Themes are mutually exclusive, while sub-themes are not mutually exclusive.