Vaccine Hesitancy Among European Parents: Key Factors Involved
A survey of parents residing in 18 European countries determined their confidence in childhood immunizations. Individual vaccine hesitancy was measured on the basis of 21 questions: 4% of parents were “very hesitant” and 24% were “somewhat hesitant” to vaccinate their children. Parents who consulted with homeopathists reported the highest hesitancy. There was heterogeneity among the countries: parents from Portugal had the highest percentage of confidence, whereas parents from Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Poland were the least confident.
Citation. Hadjipanayis A, van Esso D, Del Torso S, et al. Vaccine confidence among parents: large scale study in eighteen European countries. Vaccine. 2020;38(6):1505–1512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.11.068
Removing Conscientious Objection: The Impact of “No Jab No Pay” and “No Jab No Play” Vaccine Policies in Australia
Federal- and state-level policy changes implemented in Australia in 2016 tied immunization status to family assistance payments and childcare eligibility. Li and Toll investigated the impact of removing religious and philosophical conscientious objection exemptions from childhood vaccination requirements. From 2014 to 2018, removing exemptions increased overall coverage rates for children aged 1, 2, and 5 years in ranges of 1% to 4%. However, this response to the policy was heterogenous: improvement in coverage was greatest in areas with greater socioeconomic disadvantage, whereas socioeconomically advantaged areas with lower baseline coverage levels were less responsive to the changes.
Citation. Li A, Toll M. Removing conscientious objection: the impact of “No Jab No Pay” and “No Jab No Play” vaccine policies in Australia. Prev Med. 2021;145:106406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106406
Perceptions of Vaccine Hesitancy in Malaysia
Vaccine hesitancy is influenced by convenience, confidence, and complacency. Using qualitative interview methods, Mohd Hasni et al. explored perspectives on vaccine hesitancy among students (n = 33) aged 18 to 27 years in Malaysia. They found 3 themes that may contribute to vaccine confidence: knowledge of infectious diseases, knowledge about the vaccine, and information evaluation (e.g., source of information about the vaccine). Two themes were found to contribute to vaccine complacency: perceptions of the vaccine and perceptions of vaccine hesitancy. No theme was identified regarding convenience of vaccination.
Citation. Mohd Hasni NH, Zabudin NF, Mohd Adib MAH. Youth perspective on vaccine hesitancy in Malaysia: a qualitative inquiry. J Public Health Dev. 2021;19(1).
Social Factors Affecting Influenza Vaccination in Urban Peru
Influenza vaccine coverage under Peru’s national immunization program, available since 2008, has decreased lately. González-Block et al. used surveys and focus groups to determine factors affecting vaccine hesitancy in Peru among 4 risk groups: pregnant women, mothers of children younger than 6 years, adults with risk factors, and adults aged 65 years and older. They used the 3Cs model to identify relevant factors, which captures confidence or trust in the vaccine, vaccine complacency if the perceived risk of disease is low, and convenience to accessing vaccination. Confidence and convenience were about equal (64.6% and 68.5%, respectively), and complacency was lowest (47.9%), indicating a low perceived risk. This was attributed to misconceptions of both influenza risk and the role of vaccination in preventing the disease.
Citation. González-Block MÁ, Arroyo-Laguna J, Rodríguez-Zea B, et al. The importance of confidence, complacency, and convenience for influenza vaccination among key risk groups in large urban areas of Peru. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2021;17(2):465–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2020.1777821