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COVID-19 vaccine uptake will vary by country

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

With vaccine roll-outs underway, take-up will be crucial in controlling the pandemic

Confidence in vaccines fluctuates across time and place

Source: Simas,C. and de Figueiredo, A. Lancet, Mapping global trends in vaccine confidence and investigating barriers to vaccine uptake: a large-scale retrospective temporal modelling study; Pew Research Center, Intent to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Rises to 60% as Confidence in Research and Development Process Increases, Dec 3, 2020

Outlook

The willingness of people to take vaccines varies by country and over time. According to a global Lancet study, published in September, the lowest percentages of people strongly agreeing that vaccines were safe in 2015 were in France (8.9%), Japan (8.9%) and Mongolia (8.1%). Vaccine confidence rose between 2015 and 2019 for France, India, Mexico, Poland, Romania and Thailand, but fell in Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and South Korea.

This was the result of controversies linked to vaccines, online anti-vaccination movements or grassroots anti-vaccination rhetoric, political instability and extremism, and general lack of trust in authorities.

With COVID-19 inoculation campaigns having started in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, vaccine take-up will be crucial in bringing the pandemic under control. Countries with low trust in vaccines may struggle to achieve herd immunity.

Impacts

  • The pandemic and lockdowns may increase people’s willingness to get vaccinated in general, including for the annual flu vaccination.
  • Robust vaccination campaigns are nonetheless likely to be needed to challenge misinformation about vaccines.
  • Celebrity endorsement of vaccinations could help combat vaccine hesitancy.

See also