Preventive Medicine Reports (Dec 2021)
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy January-May 2021 among 18–64 year old US adults by employment and occupation
Abstract
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy threatens pandemic control efforts. We evaluated vaccine hesitancy in the US by employment status and occupation category during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. US adults 18–64 years completed an online COVID-19 survey 3,179,174 times from January 6-May 19, 2021. Data was aggregated by month. Survey weights matched the sample to the US population age, gender, and state profile. Weighted percentages and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Changes in vaccine hesitancy from January-May varied widely by employment status (e.g., −7.8% [95%CI, −8.2 – −7.5] among those working outside the home, a 26.6% decrease; −13.3% [95%CI, −13.7 – −13.0] among those not working for pay, a 44.9% decrease), and occupation category (e.g., −15.9% [95%CI, −17.7 – −14.2] in production, a 39.3% decrease; −1.4% [95%CI, −3.8 – −1.0] in construction/extraction, a 3.0% decrease). April 20-May 19, 2021, vaccine hesitancy ranged from 7.3% (95%CI, 6.7 – 7.8) in computer/mathematical professions to 45.2% (95%CI, 43.2–46.8) in construction/extraction. Hesitancy was 9.0% (95%CI, 8.6–9.3) among educators and 14.5% (95%CI, 14.0–15.0) among healthcare practitioners/technicians. While the prevalence of reasons for hesitancy differed by occupation, over half of employed hesitant participants reported concern about side effects (51.7%) and not trusting COVID-19 vaccines (51.3%), whereas only 15.0% didn’t like vaccines in general. Over a third didn’t believe they needed the vaccine, didn’t trust the government, and/or were waiting to see if it was safe. In this massive national survey of adults 18–64 years, vaccine hesitancy varied widely by occupation. Reasons for hesitancy indicate messaging about safety and addressing trust are paramount.
