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Discrimination backfires? Minority ethnic disparities in vaccine hesitancy

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  • Costa-Font, Joan
  • Docrat, Fatima

Abstract

A number of minority ethnic groups (MEGs) exhibited persistent reluctance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This paper attempts to empirically identify and validate some of the contentious behavioral determinants for vaccine hesitancy (VH) that remain unexplained including the role of risk perceptions, trust in government institutions, and prior experiences of racism and trauma. We draw on unique longitudinal data from a minority-boosted sample that was collected in the United Kingdon (UK). We document robust evidence of MEG disparities in VH, which declined between November 2020 and March 2021. While VH is associated to both historical and current distrust in government, risk beliefs, exposure to racism, and an individuals socio-economic background, these factors do not fully explain MEG disparities. Furthermore, similar patterns of inequality are observed when we examine MEG disparities in healthcare use, suggesting that disparities in VH reflect broader unobservable structural barriers to healthcare access.

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  • Costa-Font, Joan & Docrat, Fatima, 2024. "Discrimination backfires? Minority ethnic disparities in vaccine hesitancy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:55:y:2024:i:c:s1570677x24000935
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101441
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    1. Gabriele Letta & Mario Cesare Nurchis & Luca Salmasi & Gilberto Turati, 2026. "Do vaccination-based access restriction policies curb hesitancy? A comparison between Italy and Spain," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def153, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).

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    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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