Determinants of personal vaccination hesitancy before and after the mid-2021 COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 29;17(7):e0270349. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270349. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Background: Using a 10 week nationwide online survey performed during a time period containing the time ahead, the start, and the peak of a COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, we investigated aspects that could affect participants' vaccination intentions.

Methods: From March to May 2021, we surveyed 1,773 people in Taiwan, aged from 20 to 75 years, to determine potential acceptance rates and factors influencing the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. We used an ordinal logistic regression with a backward selection method to identify factors that affected vaccination intention.

Results: Several factors could increase individuals' vaccination intentions including: being male, older, with an openness personality, having a better quality of life in the physical health domain, having better knowledge and personal health behavior, having more trust in the government, and being worried about misinformation. Perceived risks played a crucial role in the vaccine decision-making process. When the pandemic intensified, people's vaccination intentions increased significantly.

Conclusion: The findings of the present study could highlight individuals' vaccination attitudes and provide governments with an empirical and dynamic base to design tailored strategies to increase vaccination rates.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Quality of Life
  • Taiwan / epidemiology
  • Vaccination
  • Vaccination Hesitancy

Substances

  • COVID-19 Vaccines

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Academia Sinica, Taiwan https://www.sinica.edu.tw/en (AS-IRB-HS07-109104 and AS-IRB-HS07-109090) for the first author. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.