Masks, money, and mandates: A national survey on efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination intentions in the United States

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Rikki H Sargent, RIWI Corp; Shaelyn Laurie, RIWI Corp; Leah Moncada, RIWI Corp; Leo F Weakland, Center for Global Health Innovation; James Lavery, Emory University; Daniel A Salmon, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Sch Publ Hlth; Walter Orenstein, Emory University; Robert Breiman, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-01-01
• Publisher: PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 Sargent et al
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267154
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLOS ONE
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: e0267154
• End Page: e0267154
• Grant/Funding Information: This project was made possible by a grant from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in collaboration with the Task Force for Global Health under Award# 6 NU51IP000873-05-02 which supported the project related activities of all authors, including the financial support provided to RIWI Corp., the commercial affiliation of authors RHS, SL, and LM. The funder provided support in the form of percentages of salaries for RHS, SL, LM, LFW, JVL, DAS, WAO, and RFB, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection, and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Science & Technology - Other Topics; Multidisciplinary Sciences
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Various efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates have been employed in the United States. We sought to rapidly investigate public reactions to these efforts to increase vaccination, including self-reported responses to widespread reduced masking behavior, monetary incentive programs to get vaccinated, and work vaccination requirements. Using a unique method for data collection (Random Domain Intercept Technology), we captured a large (N = 14,152), broad-based sample of the United States Web-using population (data collected from June 30 –July 26, 2021). About 3/4 of respondents reported being vaccinated. The likelihood of vaccination and vaccination intention differed across various demographic indicators (e.g., gender, age, income, political leaning). We observed mixed reactions to efforts aimed at increasing vaccination rates among unvaccinated respondents. While some reported that specific efforts would increase their likelihood of getting vaccinated (between 16% and 32%), others reported that efforts would decrease their likelihood of getting vaccinated (between 17% and 42%). Reactions differed by general vaccination intention, as well as other demographic indicators (e.g., race, education). Our results highlight the need to fully understand reactions to policy changes, programs, and mandates before they are communicated to the public and employed. Moreover, the results emphasize the importance of understanding how reactions differ across groups, as this information can assist in targeting intervention efforts and minimizing potentially differential negative impact.