Royal society of Canada COVID-19 report: Enhancing COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Canada
Noni E. MacDonald,
Jeannette Comeau,
Ève Dubé,
Janice Graham,
Margo Greenwood,
Shawn Harmon,
Janet McElhaney,
C. Meghan McMurtry,
Alan Middleton,
Audrey Steenbeek,
Anna Taddio
Affiliations
Noni E. MacDonald
Department of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Canada
Jeannette Comeau
Division of Infectious Diseases, Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Canada
Ève Dubé
Scientific Group on Immunization at the Quebec National Institute of Public Health, Québec, Canada Department of Anthropology, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Janice Graham
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 2Y9, Canada
Margo Greenwood
School of Education, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada Department of First Nations Studies, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
Shawn Harmon
Department of Pediatrics, Technoscience and Regulation Research Unit, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Janet McElhaney
Medical Sciences Division, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada Health Sciences North Research Institute, Sudbury, ON P3E 2H2, Canada
C. Meghan McMurtry
Pediatric Pain, Health and Communication Lab (PPHC), University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada Clinical and Health Psychologist with the Pediatric Chronic Pain Program, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5, Canada
Alan Middleton
Schulich Executive Education Centre, York University, North York, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Audrey Steenbeek
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Anna Taddio
Clinical Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3M2, Canada The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
COVID-19 vaccine acceptance exists on a continuum from a minority who strongly oppose vaccination, to the “moveable middle” heterogeneous group with varying uncertainty levels about acceptance or hesitancy, to the majority who state willingness to be vaccinated. Intention for vaccine acceptance varies over time. COVID-19 vaccination decisions are influenced by many factors including knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs; social networks; communication environment; COVID-19 community rate; cultural and religious influences; ease of access; and the organization of health and community services and policies. Reflecting vaccine acceptance complexity, the Royal Society of Canada Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance developed a framework with four major factor domains that influence vaccine acceptance (people, communities, health care workers; immunization knowledge; health care and public health systems including federal/provincial/territorial/indigenous factors)—each influencing the others and all influenced by education, infection control, extent of collaborations, and communications about COVID-19 immunization. The Working Group then developed 37 interrelated recommendations to support COVID vaccine acceptance nested under four categories of responsibility: 1. People and Communities, 2. Health Care Workers, 3. Health Care System and Local Public Health Units, and 4. Federal/Provincial/Territorial/Indigenous. To optimize outcomes, all must be engaged to ensure co-development and broad ownership.
