College of Business, Southern University and A&M, Baton Rouge, LA 70813, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jul 7;20(13):6313. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20136313.
The extant literature on the U.S. SARS-CoV-2 virus indicates that the vaccination campaign was lagging, insufficient, and uncoordinated. This study uses the spatial model to identify the drivers of vaccine hesitancy (in the middle of the pandemic), one of the critical steps in creating impactful and effective interventions to influence behavioral changes now and in the future. The applied technique accounted for observed and unobserved homogeneity and heterogeneity among counties. The results indicated that political and religious beliefs, quantified by Cook's political bipartisan index and the percentage of the population affiliated with the main Christian groups, were the main drivers of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy. The past vaccination experience and other variables determining the demand and supply of vaccines were also crucial in influencing hesitancy. The results imply that vaccination campaigns require engaging community leaders at all levels rather than depending on politicians alone and eliminating barriers to the supply and demand of vaccines at all levels. Coordination among religious and community leaders would build a practical institutional arrangement to facilitate (rather than frustrate) the vaccination drives.
关于美国 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的现有文献表明，疫苗接种活动滞后、不足且不协调。本研究使用空间模型来确定疫苗犹豫（在大流行中期）的驱动因素，这是制定有影响力和有效的干预措施以影响现在和未来行为改变的关键步骤之一。所应用的技术考虑了各县之间观察到和未观察到的同质性和异质性。结果表明，政治和宗教信仰（以库克的两党政治指数和主要基督教群体的人口百分比来量化）是 SARS-CoV-2 疫苗犹豫的主要驱动因素。过去的疫苗接种经验和其他决定疫苗供需的变量对于影响犹豫也至关重要。结果表明，疫苗接种活动需要在各级接触社区领袖，而不仅仅依赖政客，并且需要消除各级疫苗供应和需求的障碍。宗教和社区领袖之间的协调将建立一个实际的制度安排，以促进（而不是阻碍）疫苗接种活动。
