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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1437942

Readiness for influenza and COVID-19 vaccination in Germany-a comparative analysis

Provisionally accepted
Anja Alexandra Schulz Anja Alexandra Schulz Yvonne Abt Yvonne Abt Linus Von Oppen Linus Von Oppen Markus A. Wirtz Markus A. Wirtz *
  • University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Vaccination readiness refers to psychological motives and beliefs that decisively determine individual and collective vaccination prevention behavior. Readiness to get vaccinated depends on expected individual and social benefits and harms. Differences exist in the perception of the threat of a potential influenza vs. COVID-19 infection and its significance for the social environment. The aim of study was to compare the 7C components of vaccination readiness for influenza and COVID-19 vaccination in adulthood.Methods: N = 317 adults answered the 7C vaccination readiness scale in two vaccination specific versions (influenza vs. COVID-19) in an online survey from September 2022 to March 2023. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of covariance, correlations and multiple regression.For COVID-19, there is a higher readiness to get vaccinated compared to influenza regarding Complacency-R (eta-p = .683), Constraints-R (eta-p = .684), Collective Rresponsibility (eta-p = .782) and Compliance (eta-p = .365). However, Confidence (eta-p = .161) and Conspiracy-R (eta-p = .256) indicate an enhanced readiness for influenza vaccination (interaction scales x vaccination type: eta-p = .602). Individual influenza vaccination recommendations and age do not or only marginally moderate these effects (interaction vaccination type x recommendation: eta-p = .155). The 7C subscales reveal a differentiated pattern of readiness for the two vaccination types. This emphasizes the relevance of the multidimensional structure of the construct vaccination readiness as well as the relevance of moderating effect of the respective vaccination type on the underlying motives and beliefs. Vaccination attitudes are influenced by cultural and social conditions as well as medical standards of care. Comparing attitudes to different vaccinations in different countries thus represents an important research desideratum in order to understand the concept of vaccination readiness more comprehensively..

    Keywords: Vaccination readiness, Vaccination hesitancy, 7C-scale, motives for vaccination, beliefs about vaccination, health prevention behavior, Collective responsibility

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 03 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Schulz, Abt, Von Oppen and Wirtz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Markus A. Wirtz, University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

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