Treating Needle Fears May Reduce COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Rates by 10%

June 17, 2021

Strikingly, these individuals were twice as likely to report that they were COVID-19 vaccine hesitant – that is, they would put off getting vaccinated or indeed never get the jab. The study indicates that if all injection anxiety in the population was removed then just over 10% of instances of vaccine hesitancy might disappear too. The COVID-19 vaccination programme means that almost everyone has had – or will soon have – to face the needle. The survey also showed that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is a little higher among younger people, and certain ethnic minority groups but it is not only vaccine scepticism that’s more common in these groups: it is injection fears too. Though they’re certainly not the main factor, the study shows that injection fears partially account for higher rates of vaccine hesitancy in these demographic groups.

The source of this news is from University of Oxford