Association of death or illness from COVID-19 among family and friends on vaccine uptake within four months of the Emergency Use Authorization. Findings from a national survey in the United States

Saurabh Kalra; Deepak Kalra; Irina Grafova; Julia Sass Rubin; Alan Monheit; Joel Cantor; Paul Duberstein; Soumitra S Bhuyan

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.024

Association of death or illness from COVID-19 among family and friends on vaccine uptake within four months of the Emergency Use Authorization. Findings from a national survey in the United States

Vaccine. 2023 Mar 17;41(12):1911-1915. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.01.024. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Authors

Saurabh Kalra¹, Deepak Kalra², Irina Grafova³, Julia Sass Rubin⁴, Alan Monheit⁵, Joel Cantor⁶, Paul Duberstein⁷, Soumitra S Bhuyan⁸

Affiliations

¹ Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. Electronic address: saurabh.kalra@rutgers.edu.
² Department of Neurology, Penn State College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, USA. Electronic address: dkalra@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
³ Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. Electronic address: grafovib@sph.rutgers.edu.
⁴ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. Electronic address: jlsrubin@rutgers.edu.
⁵ Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. Electronic address: monheiac@sph.rutgers.edu.
⁶ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. Electronic address: jcantor@ifh.rutgers.edu.
⁷ Rutgers School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. Electronic address: paul.duberstein@rutgers.edu.
⁸ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. Electronic address: soumitra.bhuyan@rutgers.edu.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between knowing that a friend or family member became ill with, or died from, COVID-19 and receiving a vaccine dose within four months of the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization.

Methods: A national sample of 1,517 respondents were surveyed from April 7 to April 12, 2021, 1,193 of whom were eligible for the vaccine when the data were collected.

Results: Respondents who knew someone who became ill with COVID-19 (AOR = 2.32, 95 % CI 1.74-3.09) or knew someone who died (AOR = 2.29, 95 % CI 1.32-3.99) from COVID-19 were more likely to receive at least a single COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Conclusion: Encouraging people to share their COVID-19 illness and bereavement experiences with their local network such as friends, families, social-networks and via social media might help increase vaccine uptake.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Belief Model; Healthcare seeking behavior; Vaccine acceptance; Vaccine uptake.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Family
Humans
Social Media*
United States
Vaccination
Vaccines*

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines
Vaccines