Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance worldwide: a rapid review

Abstract

Background: While vaccines are acknowledged as one of the most successful public health measures, an increasing number of people doubt the safety or necessity of vaccines. We aimed to assess and identify the factors associated with COVID‐ 19 vaccination acceptance worldwide. Materials and Methods: In this review, a systemic search of online databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CIVILICA, and Google Scholar search engine) was conducted for related studies with no time limit up to November 2021. Results: The percentage of individuals willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine across worldwide studies ranged from 23.1% to 92%. Willingness to vaccinate was dependent on factors such as male gender, older age groups (aged 65 or older), race (Asian race), higher income, ethnicity (Hispanic ethnicity), specialists’ recommendations, access barriers (location of vaccine delivery, relative cost, time and distance to access vaccine), and a higher level of education. Hesitancy was mostly driven by vaccine safety concerns, perceived effectiveness, distrust in health officials or public health experts to ensure vaccine safety, lack of vaccine offer or lack of communication from trusted providers and community, vaccine characteristics (i.e., ways the vaccine will be administered and where the vaccine is made), and speed of vaccine development and was associated with fear of known or unknown longterm side effects. Conclusion: The top three reasons people agree to vaccinate were "to protect themselves and others", "belief in vaccination and science", and "to help stop the virus spread". Willingness to vaccinate differed by age, gender, race, income status, ethnicity, specialists’ recommendations, access barriers (including the location of vaccine delivery, relative cost, time, and distance to access a vaccine), and education.