Chonnam Med J.  2022 Jan;58(1):43-47. 10.4068/cmj.2022.58.1.43.

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Preventive Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
  • 2Gwangju Institute for Public Health and Equity, Gwangju, Korea
  • 3Institute for Biomedical Science, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea
  • 4Department of Preventive Medicine, Chosun University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
  • 5Gwangju Center for Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention, Gwangju, Korea

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy will likely increase in the unvaccinated general population because of several vaccine safety issues that arose during priority vaccination. To investigate the potential rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the unvaccinated population and evaluate factors that affect the attitude towards vaccine acceptance, a cross-sectional survey was performed. A telephone survey was conducted in 1,357 people older than 18 years; 99 were excluded from the analysis because they had already been vaccinated (n=58) or hesitated (n=41) after an official call. The COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy rate was 21.9% and was highest among those aged under 30 years (33.4%) and lowest among those aged 65 years and over (8.7%). Age, occupation, and perceived confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy were associated with vaccine hesitancy. These findings suggest that public health authorities should strengthen the spread of correct information, especially in the younger population, to increase vaccination rates.

Keyword

COVID-19; Vaccine Hesitancy; Vaccination
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