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Publications

Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Ppublish 4 citations

PubMed: 38390696 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2316417

The evolution of vaccine hesitancy through the COVID-19 pandemic: A semi-structured interview study on booster and bivalent doses.

Hum Vaccin Immunother 20(1):2316417

Authors: Jeanna Parsons Leigh, Emily A FitzGerald, Stephana Julia Moss, Michal S Cherak, Rebecca Brundin-Mather, Alexandra Dodds, Henry T Stelfox, Ève Dubé, Kirsten M Fiest, Donna M Halperin, Sofia B Ahmed, Shannon E MacDonald, Sharon E Straus, Terra Manca, Josh Ng Kamstra, Andrea Soo, Shelly Longmore, Shelly Kupsch, Bonnie Sept, Scott A Halperin

Affiliations

  • Faculty of Health, School of Health Administration, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • Canadian Center for Vaccinology & IWK Health Center, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • CRISMA Center, Department of Critical Care, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA.
  • Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  • Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
  • Département d'anthropologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
  • O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • Department of Psychiatry & Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • Rankin School of Nursing, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  • Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  • Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada.
  • Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
  • Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Abstract

We sought in-depth understanding on the evolution of factors influencing COVID-19 booster dose and bivalent vaccine hesitancy in a longitudinal semi-structured interview-based qualitative study. Serial interviews were conducted between July 25th and September 1, 2022 (Phase I: univalent booster dose availability), and between November 21, 2022 and January 11, 2023 (Phase II: bivalent vaccine availability). Adults (≥18 years) in Canada who had received an initial primary series and had not received a COVID-19 booster dose were eligible for Phase I, and subsequently invited to participate in Phase II. Twenty-two of twenty-three (96%) participants completed interviews for both phases (45 interviews). Nearly half of participants identified as a woman ( = 11), the median age was 37 years (interquartile range: 32-48), and most participants were employed full-time ( = 12); no participant reported needing to vaccinate (with a primary series) for their workplace. No participant reported having received a COVID-19 booster dose at the time of their interview in Phase II. Three themes relating to the development of hesitancy toward continued vaccination against COVID-19 were identified: 1) effectiveness (frequency concerns; infection despite vaccination); 2) necessity (less threatening, low urgency, alternate protective measures); and 3) information (need for data, contradiction and confusion, lack of trust, decreased motivation). The data from interviews with individuals who had not received a COVID-19 booster dose or bivalent vaccine despite having received a primary series of COVID-19 vaccines highlights actionable targets to address vaccine hesitancy and improve public health literacy.

MeSH

Vaccines, Vaccination, Covid-19, Pandemics, Vaccination Hesitancy

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