Regional and neighbourhood-based variation in three types of vaccine attitude in Britain

Abstract

This study investigates the geographic patterning of attitudes towards vaccination in Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland). Using survey data from the 2018 Wellcome Monitor linked to lower super output areas and NUTS2 regions, this study provides evidence that negative attitudes regarding the risk of side-effects from vaccination and regarding the efficacy of vaccination are correlated with higher levels of local deprivation. While previous research has highlighted associations between vaccine uptake and deprivation for a variety of reasons, this study specifically contends that particular individualised types of caution about vaccines also tend to cluster in deprived areas.

Keywords: Britain; Deprivation; Neighbourhood; Risk; Survey; Vaccine hesitancy.