COVID-19 vaccination preferences during a pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration

Abram L Wagner; Felicia Zhang; Stefania Kerekes; Shu-Fang Shih; Lili Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100373

COVID-19 vaccination preferences during a pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration

Vaccine X. 2023 Aug 18:15:100373. doi: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100373. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Abram L Wagner¹, Felicia Zhang¹, Stefania Kerekes^{1

2}, Shu-Fang Shih³, Lili Zhao⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
² Faculty of European Studies, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, 400090 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
³ Department of Health Administration, College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

Abstract

In April 2021, the US paused Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccination because of reported blood clots post vaccination. This paper explores how vaccine decision-making--receiving a J&J vaccine right away vs waiting for a Pfizer vaccine--changed during the pause. In an opt-in internet-based survey April 2021 with 915 participants, 37 % were not vaccinated. Of these, 18 % would accept a J&J vaccine, 5 % would wait 1 month for a Pfizer vaccine, 25 % would wait 3 months, and 52 % would not want any vaccine. Among the unvaccinated, 56 % had heard of blood clots; 61 % of these did not want any vaccine, compared to 41 % of those who had not heard of blood clots. Moreover, among those vaccine hesitant in general, 11 % would still obtain a J&J vaccine if offered right away. These findings may suggest spillover of brand-specific adverse event concerns to the vaccine product as a whole.

Keywords: Adverse reactions; COVID-19; Risk perceptions; Vaccines.