The Prevalence and Correlates of Prospective Vaccine Hesitancy Among Individuals who Received COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

Objectives. Supplemental “booster” vaccines may prove vital in combating future, variant waves of COVID-19. Given relatively low levels of booster vaccine uptake, Americans’ willingness to receive a second booster shot are unclear. Consequently, I offer new insights into the (a) prevalence and (b) socio-political correlates of “boosted” Americans’ reluctance to receive an additional booster shot. Methods. In a demographically representative survey of N = 3,950 US adults, respondents reported their COVID-19 vaccination status, intentions to receive an additional booster, and reasons for potentially-foregoing vaccination. I provide both descriptive and multivariate analyses that assess both “boosted” Americans’ vaccination intentions, and their reasons for potentially-foregoing vaccination. Findings. While 49% [95% CI: 47, 51] of Americans report having received an initial booster shot, just 34% [33, 36] report that they would be “very likely” to do so again. In multivariate models, concerns about missing work to vaccinate (-10%; B = 0.53, p =0.05) and being unconvinced that additional boosters will be necessary (-47%; B = 2.24, p < 0.01) are significantly associated with being very likely to receive a second COVID-19 booster shot. Conclusions. Even among vaccine-accepting sub-populations, fears about side effects and seeing future vaccination as unnecessary motivate substantial vaccine hesitancy regarding additional booster vaccines. These findings can help public health practitioners better-preempt vaccine demand when responding to variant waves of COVID-19, and broaden our understanding of why even those who have positive views toward vaccination might, under some circumstances, opt to not do so.