Acceptability of a COVID-19 Vaccine among Adults in the United States: How Many People Would Get Vaccinated?

Reiter, Paul L.; Pennell, Michael L.; Katz, Mira L.

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Several prophylactic vaccines against COVID-19 are currently in development, yet little is known about people’s acceptability of a COVID-19 vaccine. Methods We conducted an online survey of adults ages 18 and older in the United States (n=2,006) in May 2020. Multivariable relative risk regression identified correlates of participants’ willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., vaccine acceptability). Results Overall, 69% of participants were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Participants were more likely to be willing to get vaccinated if they thought their healthcare provider would recommend vaccination (RR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.49–2.02) or if they were moderate (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.02–1.16) or liberal (RR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.07–1.22) in their political leaning. Participants were also more likely to be willing to get vaccinated if they reported higher levels of perceived likelihood getting a COVID-19 infection in the future (RR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09), perceived severity of COVID-19 infection (RR=1.08, 95% CI: 1.04–1.11), or perceived effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine (RR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.40–1.52). Participants were less likely to be willing to get vaccinated if they were non-Latinx black (RR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.74–0.90) or reported a higher level of perceived potential vaccine harms (RR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98). Conclusions Many adults are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, though acceptability should be monitored as vaccine development continues. Our findings can help guide future efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptability (and uptake if a vaccine becomes available).