Covid vaccine uptake high despite concerns over hesitancy
Uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine has been high among those offered it, doctors say, despite fears that vaccine hesitancy could undermine efforts to control the pandemic.
Experts have feared mass uptake of the jab could be jeopardised by widespread misinformation, concerns among the public about the speed at which the vaccine has been developed and approved, and lack of trust in vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies and governments calling for it.
Such concerns have been compounded by the new, highly transmissible variant of coronavirus that is spreading across the UK, which will mean a greater proportion of the population needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.
But for now, at least, it seems few are shying away from vaccination. “We’ve had reports from our members that despite inevitable teething problems – to be expected when delivering a completely new and complicated vaccine at scale and speed – the programme seems to be running well overall with very positive take-up rates, so far,” said Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs and a practising GP in east London.
Dr Julia Patterson, founder and chief executive of EveryDoctor, a network of grassroots NHS medics, agreed. “I run a network of 26,000 doctors. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive among those receiving the vaccine. Despite much disinfor
mation online, the uptake is going well,” she told the Guardian.
According to UK government figures, 616,933 people had received their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine by the week ending 20 December, with those over the age of 80, residents and workers of care homes and NHS staff the first groups to receive the shot.
Dr Fari Ahmad, a GP, said a lot of elderly recipients are very happy to have the vaccine.
“I think they do understand how much of a difference it will make to them individually and they’re probably the ones that have been shielding, and it’s had a massive impact on them,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“As we move through the age ranges I certainly think there will be some vaccine hesitancy, but I would hope that people will have seen the benefits of it.”
Dr Samantha Vanderslott, of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said that surveys have previously suggested acceptance of a Covid vaccine would be higher among older age groups.
A poll by YouGov in November showed that 67% of Britons were very likely, or fairly likely, to take the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine if offered, a figure that rose to 81% among those aged 65 and over.
“The acceptance in older ages has been higher in surveys and vaccination seems to have been going quite smoothly,” said Vanderslott. “How younger people will fare is a bit unknown but they will be far down the list and millions will have had the vaccine already, so the hope is that the worries about the newness and speed of development will decrease.”
But Vanderslott added that more effort is needed to underscore the importance of vaccination in younger people, and offer clear and tailored messages to groups with particular conditions or situations.
Prof Beate Kampmann, director of the vaccine centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine agreed that as the number of those who have been vaccinated grows, many of those wavering may decide to have the jab.
But, she added, other factors may also play a role. “If there are going to be travel restrictions and people can’t go anywhere unless they have got this vaccine passport [if that approach is taken], I think people will change their mind quite quickly about whether they want this vaccine or not.”