AUTHOR=Rozek Laura , Jones Pauline , Menon Anil R., Hicken Allen , Apsley Samantha , King Elizabeth 

TITLE=Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in the Context of COVID-19: The Role of Trust and Confidence in a Seventeen-Country Survey

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 66 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2021.636255

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2021.636255

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Introduction
An effective vaccine to SARS-CoV-2 is essential to controlling the current pandemic. However, it cannot be successfully deployed if a significant number of people worldwide are unwilling to accept it. We draw on recent research suggesting there is a strong relationship between trust in scientists and medical professionals and perceptions of vaccine safety and effectiveness. We also build on past studies by exploring the relationship between confidence in global health organizations and vaccine hesitancy.

Methods
We conducted an online survey in seventeen countries/territories across five world regions between May 21, 2020 and June 24, 2020. Questions were designed to assess COVID19 vaccine hesitancy, confidence in public health organizations, and trust in key experts and leaders. A total of 17,158 surveys were completed.

Results
Our findings strongly suggest that confidence in the World Health Organization (WHO) combined with trust in domestic scientists and healthcare professionals is a strong driver of vaccine acceptance across multiple countries. Survey respondents who expressed a lot of confidence in the WHO were almost three times less likely to express vaccine hesitancy compared to those who expressed no confidence in the WHO. 

Conclusion
In our global survey of COVID19 vaccine to date, we find that hesitancy is widespread, and uptake would be insufficient to achieve herd immunity. Our findings highlight that there is widespread confidence in how public health organizations, including the WHO, have responded to the current pandemic and that this is related to vaccine acceptance. Our results also highlight the important role of trust in health care providers and scientists in reducing COVID19 vaccine hesitancy.