Willingness to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine and Reasons for Hesitancy Among Medicare Beneficiaries: Results From a National Survey. Issue 1 (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Luo, Huabin; Qu, Haiyan; Basu, Rashmita; Rafferty, Ann P.; Patil, Shivajirao P.; Cummings, Doyle M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of public health management and practice. Volume 28:Issue 1(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- hesitancy -- Medicare beneficiaries -- vaccination; Public health administration -- United States -- Periodicals; 253.6
• DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001394
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1078-4659

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives: To assess (1) the willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine among Medicare beneficiaries, (2) the associated factors, and (3) the reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Methods: Data were taken from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) 2020 Fall COVID-19 Supplement, conducted October-November 2020. Willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine was measured by respondents' answer to whether they would get a COVID-19 vaccine when available. We classified responses of "definitely" and "probably" as "willing to get, " and responses "probably not, " "definitely not, " and "not sure" as "vaccine hesitancy." Reasons for vaccine hesitancy were assessed by a series of yes/no questions focusing on 10 potential reasons. The analytical sample included 6715 adults 65 years and older. We conducted a logistic regression model to assess demographic factors and other factors associated with the willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine. All analyses were conducted in Stata 14 and accounted for the complex survey design of MCBS. Results: Overall, 61.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.1-63.0) of Medicare beneficiaries would be willing to get a vaccine when available. Among those who were hesitant, more than 40% reported that mistrust of the government and side effects as the main reasons. Logistic regression model results showed that non-Hispanic Blacks (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.24-0.44) and Hispanics (AOR = 0.60; 95% CI, 0.47-0.77) were less willing to get a vaccine than non-Hispanic Whites; beneficiaries with an income of less than $25 000 (AOR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.62-0.81) were less willing to get the vaccine than those with an income of $25 000 or more; those who did not think that the COVID-19 virus was more contagious (AOR = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.41-0.69) or more deadly (AOR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.41-0.65) were also less willing to get the vaccine than those who thought that the virus was more contagious or more deadly than the influenza virus. Conclusions: The 2020 MCBS survey data showed that close to 40% of Medicare beneficiaries were hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine, and the hesitancy was greater in racial/ethnic minorities. Medicare beneficiaries were concerned about the safety of the vaccine, and some appeared to be misinformed. Evidence-based educational and policy-level interventions need to be implemented to further promote COVID-19 vaccination.