Skip to main content
. 2021 Oct 6;17(12):4816–4822. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2021.1979378

Table 6.

Rankings of reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among non-vaccinated respondents, sorted by age groups

Reason given a Age group/Rank
Young (n = 84) Middle-aged (n = 57) Older (n = 10)
The vaccine might have dangerous side effects 1st (66.7%) 1st (77.2%) 1st (50.0%)
I might be allergic to the vaccine 2nd (46.4%) 2nd (57.9%) 2nd (30.0%)
The vaccine probably would not work 3rd (33.3%) 3rd (29.8%) 3rd (20.0%)
I am at a low risk of infection 5th (13.1%) 4th (21.1%) 1st (50.0%)
The vaccine is too expensive 4th (15.5%) 5th (10.5%) 4th (10.0%)
I prefer developing immunity from infection than immunity through vaccination 7th (7.1%) 6th (8.8%) 2nd (30.0%)
I hate needles and injections 8th (3.6%) 7th (7.0%) 3rd (20.0%)
I am healthy 6th (11.9%) 8th (1.8%) 4th (10.0%)
If I became infected, I would not become seriously ill 7th (7.1%) 8th (1.8%) 2nd (30.0%)
I am already immune from a past COVID-19 infection 9th (0.0%) 9th (0.0%) 3rd (20.0%)

aThe reasons why respondents hesitated to be vaccinated (n = 151), with one respondent giving more than one reason; Respondents hesitated to be vaccinated (n = 151) included “Somewhat Unlikely” and “extremely Unlikely”.