School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China; China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China.
International Vaccine Access Center, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Vaccine. 2021 Apr 1;39(14):1968-1976. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.02.060. Epub 2021 Feb 27.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant diseases and economic burdens in the world. Vaccines are often considered as a cost-effective way to prevent and control infectious diseases, and the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines have been progressing unprecedently. It is needed to understand individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) among general population, which provides information about social demand, access and financing for future COVID-19 vaccination.
To investigate individuals' WTP and financing mechanism preference for COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic period in China.
During March 1-18, 2020, we conducted a network stratified random sampling survey with 2058 respondents in China. The survey questionnaires included out-of-pocket WTP, financing mechanism preference as well as basic characteristics of the respondents; risk perception and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; attitude for future COVID-19 vaccination. Multivariable Tobit regression was used to determine impact factors for respondents' out-of-pocket WTP.
The individuals' mean WTP for full COVID-19 vaccination was CNY 254 (USD 36.8) with median of CNY 100 (USD 14.5). Most respondents believed that governments (90.9%) and health insurance (78.0%) needed to pay for some or full portions of COVID-19 vaccination, although 84.3% stated that individuals needed to pay. Annual family income, employee size in the workplace, and whether considering the COVID-19 pandemic in China in a declining trend affected respondents' WTP significantly.
The findings demonstrated the individuals' WTP for COVID-19 vaccination in China and their preferences for financing sources from individuals, governments and health insurance. And to suggest an effective and optimal financing strategy, the public health perspective with equal access to COVID-19 vaccination should be prioritized to ensure a high vaccination rate.
COVID-19 大流行在世界范围内造成了重大的疾病和经济负担。疫苗通常被认为是预防和控制传染病的一种具有成本效益的方法，COVID-19 疫苗的研发进展前所未有。了解普通人群的意愿支付（WTP）对于未来 COVID-19 疫苗接种的社会需求、可及性和融资至关重要。
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，调查中国普通人群对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的 WTP 及其融资机制偏好。
2020 年 3 月 1 日至 18 日，我们在中国进行了一项网络分层随机抽样调查，共调查了 2058 名受访者。调查问卷包括自付意愿支付、融资机制偏好以及受访者的基本特征；对 COVID-19 大流行的风险感知和影响；对未来 COVID-19 疫苗接种的态度。采用多变量 Tobit 回归确定影响受访者自付意愿支付的因素。
中国普通人群对 COVID-19 全价疫苗接种的平均意愿支付为 254 元人民币（36.8 美元），中位数为 100 元人民币（14.5 美元）。大多数受访者认为政府（90.9%）和医疗保险（78.0%）需要支付部分或全部 COVID-19 疫苗接种费用，尽管 84.3%的受访者表示个人需要支付费用。家庭年收入、工作场所员工规模以及是否认为中国 COVID-19 疫情呈下降趋势显著影响了受访者的 WTP。
本研究结果表明，中国普通人群对 COVID-19 疫苗接种的 WTP 及其对个人、政府和医疗保险支付来源的偏好。为了制定有效和最佳的融资策略，应优先考虑公共卫生视角，以确保 COVID-19 疫苗接种的高接种率。
