Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Hispanics in the USA with increased rates of SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. The objective of this report was to characterize the demographics and beliefs of unvaccinated Hispanics to help address their concerns that lead to vaccine hesitancy.
Methods: Of 1,011 potential participants from a national online panel, 22.3% (N = 225, 51.6% female, age = 40.5) met inclusion criteria of Hispanic adults and not receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The 30-item survey included items about demographics, political affiliations, sources of news (e.g., Fox vs. CNN), reasons for being unvaccinated, and ratings (0 = strongly disagree, 100 = strongly agree) of 10 controversial statements regarding COVID-19.
Results: Over three-fifths (62.6%) identified side effects and safety concerns, while almost one-third (30.5%) cited a lack of efficacy as their top reasons for being unvaccinated. Agreement to "The developers of the COVID-19 vaccine rushed the development and cut corners" was rated the highest (63.22) which was significantly (p < .001) higher than the other nine statements (e.g., "The COVID-19 vaccine does not work"). Many vaccine attitudes differed significantly by political party affiliation and some by gender and news source. Republicans (59.9 ± 4.2) scored higher than Democrats (38.5 ± 4.2, p ≤ .001) to "If I've already had COVID-19, I don't need the vaccine."
Conclusions: This study identified the heterogeneity in COVID-19 vaccine attitudes among Hispanics. Further research is needed to determine if the subgroups identified are differentially receptive to interventions to facilitate reconsideration of prior vaccination decisions.
Keywords: Gender; Infectious disease; News; Political ideology.
© 2022. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.