How People in Eight European Countries Felt About the Safety, Effectiveness, and Necessity of COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Survey

TL;DR

This study surveyed people in eight European countries about their views on the safety, effectiveness, and necessity of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into public attitudes toward vaccination across different European countries.

Findings

Only 44.1% of respondents considered the vaccines safe, 43.5% effective, and 44.9% necessary.

Younger people, well-informed individuals, and Germans were more likely to see vaccination as effective and necessary.

Feeling well-informed about vaccines correlated with higher vaccination rates.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination vary globally, influenced by political and cultural factors. This research aimed to assess the views of people without a healthcare qualification in Europe on COVID-19 vaccination safety, effectiveness, and necessity as well as how well informed they felt. The secondary outcomes focused on how respondents’ views were affected by demographic and context factors and included a comparison by country of the level of feeling well informed. Methods: A mixed-method cross-sectional online survey in eight European countries, using convenience sampling. Results: A total of 1008 adults completed the survey, 60% of whom were female. While only 44.1% considered the vaccines safe, 43.5% effective, and 44.9% necessary, 80.0% had been vaccinated. Four in ten adults strongly agreed that they were well informed, while over a quarter did not answer the question. Younger respondents, well-informed individuals, and German respondents were more inclined to perceive COVID-19 vaccination as both effective and necessary. Conclusions: Motivations for vaccination included perceived health and social benefits, while concerns included a preference for “natural immunity”, the rapid development of the vaccine, and potential unknown long-term effects. A correlation existed between respondents feeling well informed about the different COVID-19 vaccines in their country and the likelihood of having been vaccinated.