Mandates likely work to increase vaccine uptake, report finds
The mandates appear to work across ethnic groups, and for people leaning against requirements.
Photo: zoranm/Getty Images
Though almost 190 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, that's less than 60% of the country's population. To increase that number, the federal government set in motion requirements that businesses with 100-plus employees mandate the vaccine.
Some headlines decried such a move, saying it would hamper, not help, the effort. But new research from a University of Pennsylvania team shows that such fears are unfounded. Rather than causing a backlash, the mandates strengthen vaccination intentions, according to the results researchers published in the journal Scientific Reports.
On top of that, the mandates appear to be having a positive effect across various ethnic groups, and for people predisposed to oppose measures that are forced on them.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
The research started with two questions: Is mandating a COVID-19 shot likely to promote vaccine uptake or increase resistance to it? How would such a requirement compare to allowing people to freely choose the vaccine? With those questions in mind, the team constructed a series of studies, which included an initial survey and three experiments.
The survey provided about 300 people basic information about the vaccine, then asked them to answer two yes-or-no questions: "Will you get the COVID-19 vaccine if it is required to work, travel, or go to school?" and "If you could get the COVID-19 vaccine for free today, would you want to be vaccinated today?"
More participants responded "yes" to the first question than to the second, suggesting people were more willing to get the vaccine if it was required. That in turn prompted the subsequent experiments.
About 1,300 people took part in the three experiments. Two of the experiments offered three conditions. In one, participants were asked to consider vaccine requirements for school, work or travel. Another discussed the choice participants had to get vaccinated of their own accord, and the third emphasized the potential freedom people might gain from vaccination. The final experiment compared only two conditions: the requirement and the free-choice situation.
If people faced with a vaccine mandate were experiencing psychological resistance, either of the two freedom conditions would have been more favorable to them than the requirement. But that wasn't the case. The results held across racial and ethnic groups and for those with a disposition for psychological reactance, the clinical term for this phenomenon.
Despite some limitations to the work – the outcome centered on vaccination intentions rather than behavior, for example – the team felt the results grounded some of the mandate speculation in fact.
THE LARGER TREND
A report this month from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services found that COVID-19 vaccinations may have helped prevent hundreds of thousands of new COVID-19 infections and tens of thousands of deaths among seniors
The findings are being used to underscore the importance of vaccines in fighting against the still-ongoing pandemic, and to combat lingering vaccine hesitancy among certain populations.
Vaccine hesitancy is still an issue. Swermo's COVID-19 Real Time Barometer showed in May that more than 72% of physicians saying patients continue to voice concerns over vaccine side effects. Still others have reported ongoing misinformation discouraging people from getting vaccines. And close to 30% of physicians reported encountering patients who have skipped their second dose due to unpleasant side effects from the first dose, or because of concerns over side effects.
Recently, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a directive, effective September 25, authorizing all CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program providers to make available and administer Pfizer-BioNTech booster doses to all people who are eligible. This includes seniors over age 65. The science has demonstrated this authorized booster can provide added protection to seniors.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also issued a reminder to Medicare beneficiaries that all COVID-19 vaccines, including the authorized booster, will be covered without cost-sharing.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
