Vaccines becoming more acceptable in the US - especially in Black and Hispanic populations

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-05-25 09:58

International

A drop in reported vaccine hesitancy has been documented in a US-based nationally representative study. The decrease, in late 2020 and early 2021, occurred in tandem with regulatory approval of COVID-19 vaccines and the mass vaccination rollout. Notably, a significant decline in vaccine hesitancy was reported across all groups, especially Black and Hispanic participants who had earlier indicated more hesitance. Still, some vaccine hesitancy estimates remained high in March 2021, particularly among young, Black and poor participants. The authors say more needs to be done to build public trust and broaden vaccination opportunities.

Journal/
conference: JAMA

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Maynooth University (Ireland), University of Liverpool (UK)

Funder: Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Robinson reported receiving funding from the American Beverage Association and Unilever for projects unrelated to the present research. No other disclosures were reported. Funding/Support: The collection of the Understanding America Study (UAS) COVID-19 tracking data was supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and by grant U01AG054580 from the National Institute on Aging. Dr Robinson’s time was partly funded by the European Research Council. Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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