Lin Cheryl, Bier Brooke, Tu Rungting, Paat John J, Tu Pikuei
Policy and Organizational Management Program, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Department of Business Administration, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Feb 25;11(3):550. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11030550.
Though available for all age groups in the US, only about half of those vaccinated have obtained a COVID-19 booster. Similar to the unvaccinated, those vaccinated-but-not-boosted may reduce the effectiveness of widespread viral protection. Booster hesitancy differs from general vaccine hesitancy yet remains less researched. We examined booster perceptions across vaccination status using qualitative methodologies. Four focus groups and 11 individual interviews (total n = 32) revealed nuanced changes and differences compared to the first-dose decision. Booster hesitancy stemmed from questions and surprises. Most vaccinated participants accepted the booster, though to varying degrees: enthusiastically with feelings of appreciation and added confidence, passively as an intuitive next step, indifferently following recommendation-"primed" by the yearly flu shot, and reluctantly with worries. The vaccinated-but-not-boosted group expressed confusion about the need for a new shot and discontentment as to why it was not communicated from the start, which coincided with their uncertainty about ending the pandemic. Inadvertently, booster recommendations further polarized non-vaccinated participants, augmenting their skepticism of the original dosages' efficacy or necessity and intensifying their distrust of the government. The findings illuminate the need for adjusting vaccination promotions to better tailor communications (e.g., distinguishing its benefits from the first vaccine and emphasizing the continued risk of COVID-19 spread). Future researchers should further explore the vaccine-accepting-yet-booster-hesitant groups' motivations and risk perceptions to reduce booster rejection.
尽管在美国所有年龄组都可以接种新冠疫苗加强针，但只有大约一半接种过疫苗的人接种了加强针。与未接种疫苗的人类似，那些接种了疫苗但未接种加强针的人可能会降低广泛的病毒防护效果。对接种加强针的犹豫不同于对一般疫苗的犹豫，但相关研究仍然较少。我们使用定性方法研究了不同疫苗接种状态下对加强针的看法。四个焦点小组和11次个人访谈（共32人）显示，与首次接种疫苗的决定相比，存在细微的变化和差异。对接种加强针的犹豫源于疑问和意外情况。大多数接种过疫苗的参与者接受了加强针，不过程度各不相同：有的热情接受，心怀感激并增添了信心；有的被动接受，认为这是直观的下一步；有的漠不关心，是按照每年流感疫苗接种的“惯例”听从了建议；还有的不情愿接受，心中有所担忧。接种了疫苗但未接种加强针的人群对需要接种新一针疫苗表示困惑，对为何一开始没有告知感到不满，这与他们对疫情结束的不确定性相吻合。无意间，关于加强针的建议进一步使未接种疫苗的参与者两极分化，加剧了他们对最初剂量疫苗效力或必要性的怀疑，以及对政府的不信任。这些发现表明需要调整疫苗接种推广方式，以便更好地调整宣传内容（例如，区分加强针与首剂疫苗的益处，并强调新冠病毒传播的持续风险）。未来的研究人员应进一步探索那些接受疫苗但对接种加强针犹豫不决的人群的动机和风险认知，以减少对加强针的抵触。
