Once we have it, will we use it? A European survey on willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Sebastian Neumann-Böhme, Nirosha Elsem Varghese, Iryna Sabat, Pedro P. Barros, Werner B F Brouwer, Job van Exel, Jonas Schreyögg, Tom Stargardt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

694 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

While the focus of attention currently is on developing a vaccine against the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to protect against the disease COVID-19, policymakers should prepare for the next challenge: uptake of the vaccine among the public. Having a vaccine does not automatically imply it will be used. Compliance with the anti-H1N1 vaccine during the 2009 influenza pandemic, for instance, was low [1], and in the decade since, vaccination rates have remained an issue of concern [2] while vaccination hesitancy has become more prevalent, leading to increases in disease outbreaks in multiple countries [3]. It is, therefore, important to understand whether or not people are willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as this can have large consequences for the success a vaccination programme—with potentially large health and economic consequences. In this editorial, we provide some first insights into this willingness to be vaccinated, based on a multi-country European study [4], which hopefully result in more attention for this important issue.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)977-982
JournalEuropean Journal Of Health Economics
Volume21
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2020

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