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An increase in willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the US between October 2020 and February 2021: longitudinal evidence from the Understanding America Study

General Information

Title
An increase in willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the US between October 2020 and February 2021: longitudinal evidence from the Understanding America Study
Author
Michael Daly, Andrew Jones and Eric Robinson
Publication Type
Working paper
Outlet
Medrxiv
Year
2021
Abstract
Background

Recent evidence suggests that willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 has been declining throughout the pandemic and is low among ethnic minority groups.

Methods

Observational study using a nationally representative longitudinal sample (N =7,840) from the Understanding America Study (UAS). Changes in the percentage of respondents willing to vaccinate, undecided, or intending to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine were examined over 20 survey waves from April 1 2020 to February 15 2021.

Results

After a sharp decline in willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 between April and October 2020 (from 74.0% to 52.7%), willingness to vaccinate increased by 8.1% (p <.001) to 60.8% between October 2020 and February 2021. A significant increase in willingness to vaccinate was observed across all demographic groups examined and Black (15.6% increase) and Hispanic participants (12.1% increase) showed particularly large changes. Conclusions Willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 increased in the US from October 2020 to February 2021.