Table 1.
Vaccine confidence and mistrust beliefs subscales based on exploratory factor analysis (N = 207).
| Vaccine Confidence and Mistrust Beliefs Subscales | M (SD)** | Factor Loading | % Strongly Agree | % Agree | % Don't Know | % Disagree | % Strongly Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confidence and Need Subscale (α = 0.90) | 3.34 (0.78) | ||||||
| It will be necessary to get a COVID-19 vaccine | 3.11 (1.13) | 0.77 | 8 | 34 | 30 | 16 | 12 |
| Getting vaccines is a good way to protect me from disease | 3.55 (1.14) | 0.75 | 19 | 45 | 17 | 13 | 7 |
| The COVID-19 vaccine will be important for my health | 3.17 (1.21) | 0.79 | 12 | 32 | 30 | 11 | 14 |
| Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is important for the health of others in my community | 3.61 (1.00) | 0.82 | 17 | 44 | 27 | 8 | 4 |
| I generally do what my doctor or healthcare provider recommends about vaccines for me | 3.51 (1.18) | 0.68 | 18 | 49 | 7 | 19 | 7 |
| When it comes to COVID-19, doctors have the best interests of patients in mind | 3.78 (0.95) | 0.45 | 23 | 45 | 23 | 8 | 2 |
| The COVID-19 vaccine will be effective | 3.21 (0.82) | 0.75 | 4 | 30 | 52 | 9 | 4 |
| The COVID-19 vaccine will be safe | 3.07 (0.84) | 0.69 | 3 | 24 | 56 | 12 | 6 |
| It will be convenient to get a COVID-19 vaccine | 3.05 (1.06) | 0.58 | 8 | 26 | 39 | 18 | 9 |
| It will cost too much to get a COVID-19 vaccine * | 2.87 (0.92) | 0.01 | 6 | 12 | 52 | 23 | 7 |
| COVID-19 Vaccine Mistrust Subscale (α = 0.73) | 3.60 (0.79) | ||||||
| If a vaccine were available to prevent COVID-19, I would not trust it | 3.20 (1.26) | 0.47 | 22 | 18 | 23 | 30 | 7 |
| If a vaccine were available to prevent COVID-19, I am worried that it could be harmful | 3.69 (1.12) | 0.68 | 27 | 37 | 15 | 18 | 2 |
| I am concerned about serious side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine | 4.05 (0.93) | 0.68 | 36 | 42 | 15 | 7 | 1 |
| New vaccines carry more risks than older vaccines | 3.48 (0.95) | 0.43 | 18 | 24 | 46 | 10 | 1 |
| Government-related COVID-19 Mistrust Subscale (α = 0.83) | 3.64 (0.81) | ||||||
| The government cannot be trusted to tell the truth about COVID-19 | 3.70 (1.12) | 0.58 | 30 | 29 | 24 | 14 | 3 |
| A lot of information about COVID-19 is being held back by the government | 3.72 (1.00) | 0.68 | 23 | 41 | 24 | 10 | 2 |
| When it comes to COVID-19, the government is lying to us | 3.54 (1.07) | 0.81 | 21 | 33 | 29 | 14 | 3 |
| The government is hiding information about COVID-19 | 3.75 (0.94) | 0.86 | 22 | 43 | 27 | 7 | 2 |
| People who take a COVID-19 vaccine will be like human guinea pigs | 3.52 (1.08) | 0.41 | 18 | 41 | 18 | 21 | 2 |
| People who participate in medical research about COVID-19 vaccines or treatments are like human guinea pigs * | 3.77 (0.97) | 0.37 | 23 | 45 | 19 | 12 | 1 |
| There is a cure for COVID-19, but it is being withheld from Black people * | 2.46 (1.05) | 0.25 | 5 | 7 | 39 | 27 | 22 |
| COVID-19 is manmade * | 3.45 (1.09) | 0.45 | 22 | 22 | 42 | 9 | 5 |
| Race-based COVID-19 related Mistrust Subscale (α = 0.70) | 3.09 (0.79) | ||||||
| Black people should be suspicious of information from the government about COVID-19 | 3.07 (1.10) | 0.68 | 11 | 23 | 35 | 23 | 8 |
| When it comes to COVID-19, Black people cannot trust healthcare providers | 2.65 (1.05) | 0.56 | 6 | 13 | 30 | 39 | 11 |
| When it comes to COVID-19, Black people will receive the same medical care from healthcare providers as people from other groups | 3.00 (1.18) | 0.42 | 11 | 24 | 30 | 23 | 12 |
| Within the healthcare system, people from my racial/ethnic group are treated differently than people from other groups | 3.66 (1.05) | 0.6 | 22 | 41 | 21 | 13 | 3 |
| I would be more comfortable having a COVID-19 vaccine explained to me from a doctor or healthcare worker with a racial or ethnic background similar to mine * | 3.01 (1.15) | 0.35 | 10 | 29 | 19 | 34 | 7 |
Note. The table indicates that confidence and mistrust are comprised of distrust of the vaccine itself, in the government, and in health care providers and institutions that provide information about and offer the vaccine, as well as perceptions of racial equity in healthcare.
*Item not included in subscale due to poor factor loading or low scale reliability with item. ** Response options for all items are 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree.