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PARIS: Scientists called for urgent action to improve public confidence in immunization, as research suggests that significant minorities in some nations may be reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
With few effective treatments and no cure for coronavirus, companies and governments are racing to develop vaccines in a bid to stop the pandemic.
But there is growing concern that “vaccine vacillation” is also on the rise, with misinformation and mistrust staining people’s acceptance of scientific advances.
In a new study published Tuesday (October 20) in Nature Medicine, researchers in Spain, the United States, and Britain surveyed 13,400 in 19 countries heavily affected by COVID-19 and found that while 72 percent said they would be immunized, 14 percent would refuse and another 14% would doubt.
When extrapolated to entire populations, this could equate to tens of millions of people who could avoid vaccination, the authors said.
“These findings should be a call to action for the international health community,” said co-author Heidi Larson, who leads the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“If we don’t start developing vaccine knowledge and restoring public confidence in science today, we cannot hope to contain this pandemic.”
The researchers found that people who had less faith in their governments were less likely to accept a vaccine, and even those who had been ill with the virus were not more likely to respond positively.
While in China 88% of respondents said they would take “a proven, safe and effective vaccine,” the highest of all countries surveyed, the proportion dropped to 75% in the US and was as low as the 55% in Russia. .
“We found that the problem of vaccinations is strongly related to a lack of trust in the government,” said study coordinator Jeffrey Lazarus of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.
When asked if they would accept a safe, approved vaccine recommended by their employer, only 32 percent of respondents fully agreed.
Acceptance rates again varied widely by country, with China again the most clearly positive responses (84 percent, fully or somewhat agree) and Russia the least (27 percent).
People were less likely to accept a vaccine if their employer ordered it, the authors said.
The study, published at the Union World Conference on Lung Health, found greater acceptance of vaccines among people who earn more than $ 32 a day.
They also found that older people were more likely to accept a vaccine than those younger than 22.
BUILDING TRUST
In a new initiative launched Tuesday and endorsed by the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, scientists involved in vaccine development will appear in a series of videos on social media to help boost public confidence in their work.
Researchers and clinicians from the UK, US, South Africa, India and Brazil will post with the hashtag #TeamHalo, a reference to the global scientific endeavor circle, on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.
“I am used to spending time pipetting samples and analyzing data,” said Anna Blakney, a participating bioengineer who is part of the vaccine development team at Imperial College London.
“TikTok is a new frontier for me, but I’m excited to demystify our work and make it accessible to the world.”
Earlier this month, a study in the Royal Society Open Science magazine found that up to a third of people in some countries may believe there is misinformation about the coronavirus and, in turn, be less open to immunization.
And recent research from Cornell University found that US President Donald Trump was the primary driver of COVID-19 misinformation around the world, due to his promotion of what researchers called “miracle cures.” .
Meanwhile, the speed of development has caused concern in some countries, with Russia announcing in August that it would begin deployment of the Sputnik V vaccine before crucial phase 3 trials are criticized as premature.
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