Salali Gul Deniz, Uysal Mete Sefa
Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK.
Department of Psychology, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey.
Psychol Med. 2020 Oct 19:1-3. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720004067.
Much research effort is focused on developing an effective vaccine for combatting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccine development itself, however, will not be enough given that a sufficient amount of people will need to be vaccinated for widespread immunity. Vaccine hesitancy is on the rise, varies across countries, and is associated with conspiratorial worldview. Given the rise in COVID-19-related conspiracy theories, we aimed to examine the levels of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its association with beliefs on the origin of the novel coronavirus in a cross-cultural study.
We conducted an online survey in the UK (N = 1088) and Turkey (N = 3936), and gathered information on participants' willingness to vaccinate for a potential COVID-19 vaccine, beliefs on the origin of the novel coronavirus, and several behavioural and demographic predictors (such as anxiety, risk perception, government satisfaction levels) that influence vaccination and origin beliefs.
In all, 31% of the participants in Turkey and 14% in the UK were unsure about getting themselves vaccinated for a COVID-19 vaccine. In both countries, 3% of the participants rejected to be vaccinated. Also, 54% of the participants in Turkey and 63% in the UK believed in the natural origin of the novel coronavirus. Believing in the natural origin significantly increased the odds of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.
Our results point at a concerning level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, especially in Turkey, and suggest that wider communication of the scientific consensus on the origin of the novel coronavirus with the public may help future campaigns targeting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
许多研究工作都集中在研发一种有效的新冠病毒 2019 型（COVID - 19）疫苗上。然而，鉴于需要大量人群接种疫苗才能实现广泛免疫，仅疫苗研发本身是不够的。疫苗犹豫现象正在上升，在不同国家有所差异，且与阴谋论世界观相关。鉴于与 COVID - 19 相关的阴谋论不断增加，我们旨在通过一项跨文化研究来调查 COVID - 19 疫苗犹豫的程度及其与对新型冠状病毒起源的看法之间的关联。
我们在英国（N = 1088）和土耳其（N = 3936）进行了一项在线调查，收集了参与者对于潜在 COVID - 19 疫苗的接种意愿、对新型冠状病毒起源的看法以及一些影响接种和起源看法的行为和人口统计学预测因素（如焦虑、风险认知、对政府的满意度）等信息。
总体而言，土耳其 31%的参与者和英国 14%的参与者不确定是否会接种 COVID - 19 疫苗。在两个国家，均有 3%的参与者拒绝接种。此外，土耳其 54%的参与者和英国 63%的参与者相信新型冠状病毒源于自然。相信自然起源显著增加了接受 COVID - 19 疫苗接种的几率。
我们的研究结果表明 COVID - 19 疫苗犹豫程度令人担忧，尤其是在土耳其，这表明向公众更广泛地传达关于新型冠状病毒起源的科学共识可能有助于未来针对 COVID - 19 疫苗犹豫现象的宣传活动。
