Too stupid to live
“Some research has estimated nearly a quarter of a million
preventable deaths due to non-vaccination in the US, during the period May
2021-Sept 2022,” they write. Average life expectancy in the United States
decreased by almost two years because of COVID.
To better understand what drives Americans’ vaccine
hesitancy, the researchers analyzed surveys from nearly 14,000 people. Their
findings suggest that vaccination rates differed significantly by education
level and age, and reasons for remaining unvaccinated differed by race and
education level.
Age, education, insurance tied to uptake
For the study, researchers analyzed data from 13,802 US
adults who participated in the Community Engagement Alliance Common Survey 2
from November 2020 to November 2022. They found that 87.2% of participants had
received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
They also found that vaccination rates differed
significantly across demographic groups. Non-Hispanic White participants had
the highest vaccination rate, at 91.8%, compared with 87.9% among Hispanic
participants and 81.8% among non-Hispanic Black participants.
Education and age were strongly associated with vaccination.
About 21% of people without a high school degree were unvaccinated, compared
with just 6.2% of those with a graduate degree. Adults 65 and older were less
likely to be unvaccinated (5.5%) than youngest participants aged 18 to 24
(17.5%). Lack of health insurance was also associated with lower uptake: 25% of
uninsured participants were unvaccinated, compared with 11% of those with
insurance.
Distrust didn’t always translate to vaccine refusal
Less than 5% of participants said they didn’t trust their
doctors as sources of COVID information.
Distrust of government institutions was more common,
however. Yet many people who expressed distrust had still been
vaccinated.
Among participants who distrusted various institutions as
sources of COVID information, vaccination rates ranged from 72.4% to 83.8%.
Even among those who did not trust the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
ensure the vaccine safety, 52.0% had received at least one dose.
Roughly 40% of respondents expressed a deep distrust in the
federal government to provide a safe vaccine for children. They expressed
greater trust in the FDA to make COVID vaccines safe for the public, with only
8.5% of participants saying they didn’t trust the FDA to make safe COVID
vaccines for adults.
Reasons for avoiding vaccination varied
Among the 1,772 unvaccinated participants, reasons for
avoiding vaccination varied significantly by race and ethnicity, age,
education, and employment. Differences included concerns about side effects,
distrust of vaccine safety, and believing the vaccines didn't work.
For example, among unvaccinated participants, the belief that vaccines didn't work was most common among adults ages 25 to 34 (10.4%) and declined with age. Just 2.7% of adults over 65 believed vaccines didn’t work. Many respondents (67.2%) cited familial or cultural disapproval of vaccines as their reason for not getting vaccinated, compared with just 11.4% of Whites.
The findings suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach to
addressing vaccine hesitancy may miss important differences between
populations. The researchers call for trusted community leaders to help address
vaccine hesitancy in their communities.
They also argue that the relatively high level of trust
patients have in their doctors could help improve uptake. “There is unrealized
potential for doctors educating patients about vaccination,” they write.
“Future vaccine campaigns should capitalize on the unique role physicians have
in patient vaccine decision making.”
