Payments ≥$US500 would incentivise 50% of US people uncertain about COVID-19 vaccination

Although more than 88% of US people say they accept COVID-19 vaccination, 14% say they would only get vaccinated with compensation − payments of at least $US500 would be required to get 50% of these people to accept being vaccinated, according to research published in Applied Health Economics and Health Policy.

The study consisted of an online survey of 2000 US individuals aged ≥18 years that used a set of contingent valuation questions to estimate willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-accept values for the vaccine and to assess its association with vaccine efficacy levels (50%, 70%, and 95%). The authors note that data collection for the study was conducted after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorisation for the Pfizer-BioNTech (11 December 2020) and Moderna (13 December 2020) vaccines at a time when the USA had

what was then the largest number of daily cases and deaths.

Sixty percent of the participants said they were willing to pay a positive amount for the vaccine; 13.7% said they would only accept free vaccination; 14.1% were willing to take the vaccine only if they were paid; and 12.2% would not accept the vaccine at all. Vaccine efficacy levels were found to affect demand for the vaccine. At vaccine efficacy levels of 50%, 75% and 95%, the estimated mean willingness-to-pay values were: $US594, $706, and $723, respectively.

The authors conclude that "payments of at least $525 are needed to sufficiently incentivise 50% or more of those willing to get vaccinated only if compensated."