Who can help prevent vaccine hesitancy ?
We asked respondents who were unsure or who said no to the vaccine about whether they would take it if it was recommended to them by someone of authority or expertise . They were able to choose from a list of suggested choices , and they picked the following : personal doctor ( 20 %), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) ( 4 %), a family member ( 4 %), and a friend ( 3 %). Other options were chosen less than the ones listed above , such as local government officials , celebrities , or trusted faith leaders . Notably , 24 % said they would not agree to get the vaccine regardless of who recommends it .
Where do people want to get the vaccine ?
The majority of respondents ( 61 %) indicated that it would be easiest for them to get the vaccine at a local clinic , health unit , or hospital . The location that ranked second most convenient was pharmacies ( 21 %). A small percent of respondents indicated that it would be easy for them to get the vaccine at a church ( 2 %) or at a school ( 1.2 %).
Conclusion
The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating toll on people in the U . S . and in Arkansas , with 336,000 local cases and 5700 deaths as of the end of April 2021 . 1 As multiple sources have reported , people of color have faced increased rates of cases , hospitalization , and death related to COVID-19 . According to the CDC , Black / African American and Hispanic / Latinx individuals have triple the number of hospitalizations , and double the mortality rate of White individuals . 2 The differences across race / ethnicity are also reflected in vaccine distribution . Among those vaccinated in the U . S ., 63 % are White , 13 % are Hispanic , and 9 % are Black , as of May 3 , 2021 . 3 This differs from their representation in the general U . S . population , of which 60 % are non-Hispanic White , 18.5 % are Hispanic / Latinx , and 13.4 % are Black / African American . 4 The inequity in rates of vaccination is also reflected in our local community in Arkansas . This could be due to lack of access , inequitable distribution plans , and / or vaccine hesitancy .
This research sought to better understand the rationale behind vaccine hesitancy among adults in Arkansas . Over half of respondents were hesitant about receiving the vaccine , largely due to concerns about time of testing and manufacturing , safety , and efficacy . A poll by the Kaiser
Family Foundation reported national hesitancy rates in December 2020 at 66 %. 5 The question was stated the same as ours , yet instead of “ no ” or “ unsure ,” the categories were “ Wait and see ,” “ Only if required ,” and “ Definitely not .” Our poll showed a higher percentage of Black / African American individuals who were hesitant about the vaccine compared to White / Caucasian individuals . This is understandable in the context of the distrust that our health care system has created within the Black / African American community . Black individuals have been experimented on for decades by physicians and research without consent , with the Tuskegee Syphilis study being one of the most prominent examples , and Black populations have traditionally faced various barriers to care , including realized and systemic racism . 6
Our study is limited in its sample size and timeframe . A lot has occurred in the past four months in terms of vaccinations since the end of our survey . Vaccination efforts have increased substantially across the U . S . and Arkansas , and many of our respondents might answer differently if asked these questions today . Based on our findings , one way to address vaccine hesitancy would be to disseminate information on efficacy and safety . Of the respondents , 20 % said they might change their mind after speaking to their physicians , which respondents ranked substantially higher than any other group or individual . Therefore , we can concentrate our efforts on information distribution within the clinic / hospital settings . We expected more people to be influenced by their faith leaders or their family and friends , yet a very small percentage of respondents indicated that they would get the vaccine if it was recommended by one of these groups . Arkansas should consider additional efforts that include clinician-led information sessions , such as live question / answer panels to address vaccine hesitancy .
Acknowledgements
The authors express our gratitude to those who participated in the pandemic poll and to the many volunteers and staff in the call center who conducted the interviews for this study . We also want to thank the State of Arkansas for the funding that supported this study through the CARES Act . This work was also supported in part by the Arkansas Center for Minority Health Disparities , supported by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health ( NIH )/
Arkansas should consider additional efforts that include clinician-led information sessions , such as live question / answer panels to address vaccine hesitancy .
NIMHD ( Award ID : 5U54MD002329 ) and by the Translational Research Institute ( Award ID : UL1 TR003107 ) funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the State of Arkansas or of NIH .
References
1 . The Arkansas Department of Health COVID-19 Update . https :// experience . arcgis . com / experience / c2ef4a4fcbe5458fbf2e- 48a21e4fece9 . Accessed May 4 , 2021
2 . COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death by Race / Ethnicity | CDC . https :// www . cdc . gov / coronavirus / 2019-ncov / covid-data / investigations-discovery / hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity . html . Accessed May 4 , 2021
3 . Ndugga N , Pham O , Hill L , Artiga S , Alam R , Parker N . Latest Data on COVID-19 Vaccinations Race / Ethnicity . Kaiser Family Foundation . Published : May 05 , 2021 . Accessed from : https :// www . kff . org / coronavirus-covid-19 / issue-brief / latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-race-ethnicity /
4 . QuickFacts . United States Census Bureau . https :// www . census . gov / quickfacts / fact / table / US / PST045219 . Accessed May 4 , 2021
5 . Huetteman E . Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Drops Among All Americans , New Survey Shows . Kaiser Health News . Published March 30 , 2021 . Accessed from : https :// khn . org / news / article / covid-vaccine-hesitancy-dropsamong-americans-new-kff-survey-shows /
6 . Wells L , Gowda A . A Legacy of Mistrust : African Americans and the US Healthcare System . Proceedings of UCLA Health . 2020 . Volume 24
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