Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 5, 1 May 2021 — VACCINE CONFIDENCE A FACTOR IN GLOBAL HEALTH [ARTICLE]

VACCINE CONFIDENCE A FACTOR IN GLOBAL HEALTH

The World Health Organization lists the laek of confidence in vaccines as one of the top 10 threats to global health, even though vaccinations, in general, prevent millions of deaths eaeh year. The University of Hawai'i's College of Social Sciences recently released a report based on four surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau from January 6 through March 1 to study attitudes about COVID-19 vaccinations in Hawai'i. Between 700 and 900 adults aged 18 and older participated in eaeh survey. Fifty-five percent of the respondents indicated they would "definitely" or "probably" get vaccinated, and 12 percent said they will "definitely not" or "probably not" do it. Of the remaining 33 percent, 31 percent already have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 2 percent did not answer the question. Laek of confidence was attributed to several factors, including concerns about the vaccines' safety, effectiveness and side effects, and people believing that others need the vaccine more than they do. Those who said they "will definitely not" get the vaccine also expressed a laek of trust in the vaccines and the government. To change these perceptions, the report underscored the need for pro-vaccination messaging to eome from trusted sources, including community leaders and medical professionals.