Understanding national trends in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada: results from five sequential cross-sectional representative surveys spanning April 2020–March 2021

ObjectiveTo examine rates of vaccine hesitancy and their correlates among Canadian adults between April 2020 and March 2021.DesignFive sequential cross-sectional age, sex and province-weighted population-based samples who completed online surveys.SettingCanada.ParticipantsA total of 15 019 Canadians...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open Vol. 12; no. 4; p. e059411
Main Authors: Lavoie, Kim, Gosselin-Boucher, Vincent, Stojanovic, Jovana, Gupta, Samir, Gagné, Myriam, Joyal-Desmarais, Keven, Séguin, Katherine, Gorin, Sherri Sheinfeld, Ribeiro, Paula, Voisard, Brigitte, Vallis, Michael, Corace, Kimberly, Presseau, Justin, Bacon, Simon
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 05.04.2022
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
BMJ Publishing Group
Series:Original research
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Attitudes
Behavior
Canada - epidemiology
Canadians
Child
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
COVID-19 vaccines
COVID-19 Vaccines - therapeutic use
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
infection control
Influenza Vaccines - therapeutic use
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Polls & surveys
Prevention
Public Health
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Sociodemographics
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trends
Vaccination
Vaccination Hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy
Young Adult
Canada
COVID-19
infection control
public health
ISSN:2044-6055, 2044-6055
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Summary:ObjectiveTo examine rates of vaccine hesitancy and their correlates among Canadian adults between April 2020 and March 2021.DesignFive sequential cross-sectional age, sex and province-weighted population-based samples who completed online surveys.SettingCanada.ParticipantsA total of 15 019 Canadians aged 18 years and over were recruited through a recognised polling firm (Leger Opinion). Respondents were 51.5% female with a mean age of 48.1 (SD 17.2) years (range 18–95 years) and predominantly white (80.8%).Primary and secondary outcome measuresRates of vaccine hesitancy over the five surveys (time points) and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological correlates.ResultsA total of 42.2% of respondents reported some degree of vaccine hesitancy, which was lowest during surveys 1 (April 2020) and 5 (March 2021) and highest during survey 3 (November 2020). Fully adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that women, those aged 50 and younger, non-white, those with high school education or less, and those with annual household incomes below the poverty line in Canada were significantly more likely to report vaccine hesitancy, as were essential and healthcare workers, parents of children under the age of 18 and those who do not get regular influenza vaccines. Endorsing prevention behaviours as important for reducing virus transmission and high COVID-19 health concerns were associated with 77% and 54% reduction in vaccine hesitancy, respectively. Having high personal financial concerns was associated with 1.33 times increased odds of vaccine hesitancy.ConclusionsResults highlight the importance of targeting vaccine efforts to specific groups by emphasising the outsized health benefits compared with risks of vaccination. Future research should monitor changes in vaccine intentions and behaviour to better understand underlying factors.
Bibliography:Original research
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ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059411