Willingness to vaccinate among adults, and factors associated with vaccine acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines in a nationwide study in Poland between March 2021 and April 2022

Bibliographic Data

ID22070783
AuthorsEftychia Kotronia (0000-0001-5173-2357, Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego PZH – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, corresponding author), Magdalena Rosińska (0000-0002-6256-7809, Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego PZH – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy), Małgorzata Stępień (0000-0001-6346-9023, Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego PZH – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy), Michal Czerwinski (0000-0002-1983-0405, Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego PZH – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy), Małgorzata Sadkowska-Todys (Narodowy Instytut Zdrowia Publicznego PZH – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy)
Year2023
Volume11
Pages1235585-1235585
Publication date2023-12-04
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2023.1235585
PMID38111477
OpenAlexW4389309006
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited39

Introduction: Despite the availability, safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, Poland remains one of the six countries of the European Union with the lowest cumulative uptake of the vaccine's primary course in the general population. This study examined willingness to vaccinate and the associated factors in samples of unvaccinated and vaccinated adults between March 2021 and April 2022. Methods: Data were collected using OBSER-CO, a nationwide, repeated cross-sectional study, conducted at four different time points (rounds). Data on willingness to vaccinate among the unvaccinated (at all rounds) and willingness to receive another dose in the vaccinated (at 2 rounds-after booster introduction), reasons for reluctance, sociodemographic, health, and behavioral factors were collected using a uniform questionnaire via computer-assisted telephone interviewing. In each round, more than 20,000 respondents were interviewed. To assess associations between factors and willingness to vaccinate, separate multivariable logistic regression models were fitted for each factor at each round and adjusted for confounders. Results: Between rounds 1 and 4 (March 2021-April 2022), in the unvaccinated, willingness to vaccinate declined from 73 to 12%, whereas in the vaccinated, willingness to receive another dose declined from 90 to 53%. The highest magnitude of decline between subsequent rounds occurred during the Omicron wave. Overall, concerns about side effects, effectiveness, and vaccine adverse effects were common but decreased over time. Age, gender, employment, place of residence, COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure, hospitalization, and participation in social activities were among the factors associated with willingness. However, associations changed over rounds highlighting the influence of different pandemic waves and variants. Conclusion: We observed a declining and multifactorial willingness to vaccinate in Poland, with vaccine attitudes dynamically changing across subsequent rounds. To address vaccine concerns, sustained health communication about COVID-19 vaccines is essential, especially after the emergence of new variants

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Disease · Environmental health · Outbreak · Vaccination · COVID-19 Impact on Reproduction · Medicine · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy · Internal Medicine · Virology

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