“Please, you go first!” preferences for a COVID-19 vaccine among adults in the Netherlands

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 292; p. 114626
• Main Authors: Mouter, Niek, de Ruijter, Annamarie, Ardine de Wit, G., Lambooij, Mattijs S, van Wijhe, Maarten, van Exel, Job, Kessels, Roselinde
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2022; Pergamon Press Inc; The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Attributes; Campaigns; Citizens; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Discrete choice; Discrete choice experiment; Health policy; Humans; Immunization; Mapping; Netherlands; Pandemics; Public preferences; Respondents; SARS-CoV-2; Side effects; Uptake; Vaccination; Vaccination Hesitancy; Vaccine Efficacy; Vaccines; Netherlands; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Public preferences; Health policy; Vaccination; Discrete choice experiment
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114626

Vaccination is generally considered the most direct way to restoring normal life after the outbreak of COVID-19, but the available COVID-19 vaccines are simultaneously embraced and dismissed. Mapping factors for vaccine hesitancy may help the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and provide valuable insights for future pandemics.
We investigate how characteristics of a COVID-19 vaccine affect the preferences of adult citizens in the Netherlands to take the vaccine directly, to refuse it outright, or to wait a few months and first look at the experiences of others.
An online sample of 895 respondents participated between November 4th and November 10th, 2020 in a discrete choice experiment including the attributes: percentage of vaccinated individuals protected against COVID-19, month in which the vaccine would become available and the number of cases of mild and severe side effects. The data was analysed by means of panel mixed logit models.
Respondents found it important that a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine becomes available as soon as possible. However, the majority did not want to be the first in line and would rather wait for the experiences of others. The predicted uptake of a vaccine with the optimal combination of attributes was 87%, of whom 55% preferred to take the vaccine after a waiting period. This latter group tends to be lower-educated. Older respondents gave more weight to vaccine effectiveness than younger respondents.
The willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine is high among adults in the Netherlands, but a considerable proportion prefers to delay their decision to vaccinate until experiences of others are known. Offering this wait-and-see group the opportunity to accept the invitation at a later moment may stimulate vaccination uptake. Our results further suggest that vaccination campaigns targeted at older citizens should focus on the effectiveness of the vaccine.
•We conducted a choice experiment on vaccination preferences among Dutch citizens.•87% accepts a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine that is available swiftly.•55% of this group prefers to delay their decision to learn from others' experiences.•Respondents who preferred to wait tend to be lower-educated.•The vaccine's effectiveness is important for older respondents who prefer to wait.