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What causes COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy? Ignorance and the lack of bliss in the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Josh Bullock

    (Kingston University)

  • Justin E. Lane

    (CulturePulse, Inc
    ALAN Analytics)

  • F. LeRon Shults

    (University of Agder and NORCE Center for Modeling Social Systems)

Abstract

Understanding vaccine hesitancy has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic as governments around the globe have been struggling to convince portions of their populations to participate in vaccination protocols. Here we report on a nationally representative survey of the United Kingdom in which data revealed that individuals showed more willingness to take fictitious vaccines (putatively produced by the US government Medicare program and the now defunct healthcare company Theranos) than to take the Sputnik and Sinovac vaccines (developed by the Russian and Chinese governments respectively). The data indicate that the critical factor in vaccine hesitancy among the respondents was anxiety rather than familiarity with vaccines.

Suggested Citation

  • Josh Bullock & Justin E. Lane & F. LeRon Shults, 2022. "What causes COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy? Ignorance and the lack of bliss in the United Kingdom," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:9:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-022-01092-w
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-022-01092-w
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ramy Shaaban & Ramy Mohamed Ghazy & Fawzia Elsherif & Nancy Ali & Youssef Yakoub & Maged Osama Aly & Rony ElMakhzangy & Marwa Shawky Abdou & Bonny McKinna & Amira Mohamed Elzorkany & Fatimah Abdullah , 2022. "COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Social Media Users: A Content Analysis, Multi-Continent Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Bara’ Abdallah AlShurman & Zahid Ahmad Butt, 2023. "Proposing a New Conceptual Syndemic Framework for COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Seungwoo Han, 2024. "Trust and needles: how perceptions of inequality shape vaccination in South Korea," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.

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