Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine increases globally: survey

Parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children also increased slightly, from 67.6% in 2021 to 69.5% in 2022.

However, vaccine acceptance declined in eight countries and nearly one in eight vaccinated respondents, particularly young men and women, were hesitant to receive a booster dose, according to the study published in natural medicine.

Worryingly, nearly one in eight vaccinated respondents (12.1%) were reluctant to receive booster doses. This hesitation was higher among the younger age groups (18-29).

Led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy at the City University of New York, the study points to great variability between countries and the need for tailored communication strategies to address vaccine hesitancy.

“The pandemic is not over, and authorities must urgently address vaccine hesitancy and resistance as part of their COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategy,” said Jeffrey V. Lazarus, head of the health systems research group at ISGlobal.

The 23 populous countries that have been hit hard by the pandemic were included in the study, including Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK and USA.

The data reported here corresponds to the third survey conducted between June and July 2022.

However, eight countries observed increased hesitancy (from 1% in the UK to 21.1% in South Africa).

“We must remain vigilant in tracking these data, containing the COVID-19 variants and addressing hesitancy, which could challenge future routine COVID-19 vaccination programs,” said Ayman El-Mohandes. , lead author.

The survey also provides new insights into COVID-19 treatments received.

Globally, ivermectin has been taken with the same frequency as other approved drugs, even though the WHO and other agencies do not recommend its use to prevent or treat COVID-19.

Additionally, nearly 4% of respondents said they pay less attention than before to new information about COVID-19 and have less support for vaccination mandates.

“Our results show that public health strategies to improve booster coverage will need to be more sophisticated and adaptable to each context and target population,” says Lazarus.

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The above article was published from a telegraphic source with minimal changes to the title and text.