Background Overcoming coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will likely require mass vaccination. With vaccination scepticism rising in many countries, assessing the willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 is of crucial global health importance. Objective The goal of this study was to examine how personal and family COVID-19 risk and ICU (intensive care unit) availability just before the pandemics influence the acceptance of future COVID-19 vaccines. Methods A two-leg survey was carried out for comparing vaccination attitudes pre-and post-COVID-19. UK residents were surveyed in October 2019 about their vaccination attitudes, and again in a follow-up survey in April 2020, containing the previous questions and further ones related to COVID-19 exposure and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. The study combined survey results with local COVID-19 incidence and pre-COVID-19 measures of ICU capacity and occupancy. Regression analysis of the impact of individual and public health factors on attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination was performed. Results The October 2019 survey included a nationally representative sample of 1653 UK residents. All of them were invited for the follow-up survey in April 2020, and 1194 (72%) participated. The April 2020 sample remained nationally representative. Overall, 85% of respondents (and 55% of vaccine sceptics) would be willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Higher personal and family risk for COVID-19 was associated with stronger COVID-19 vaccination willingness, whereas low pre-COVID-19 ICU availability was associated with lower trust in medical experts and lower COVID-19 vaccine support. Further, general vaccination support has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion Support for COVID-19 vaccination is high amongst all groups, even vaccine sceptics, boding well for future vaccination take-up rates. Vaccination willingness is correlated with health care availability during the COVID-19 crisis, suggesting a powerful synergy between health care system performance during crisis and the general population’s trust in the medical profession – as reflected in vaccination support.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Vaccine, Vaccination hesitancy, Vaccine scepticism, Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity, Trust in medical experts, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, public health, COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination, intensive care, COVID-19 pandemic, risk, Local, ICU, COVID-19 vaccines, Health, COVID-19 vaccination, Pandemics, Follow-up, General population, synergy, Care, Analysis, Regression, Support, COVID-19 incidence, Factor, COVID-19 crisis, measure, vaccinate, objective, Result, carried, remained, was performed, reflected, question, correlated, groups, rising, participated, vaccinated against COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 vaccination, intensive care, Impact, United Kingdom,