Socio-demographic, psychological, and experiential predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in South Korea, October-December 2020

Vaccine hesitancy is the primary barrier to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. We used logistic multivariate regression modeling to investigate (1) the prevalence and reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, (2) sub-groups that had higher rates of vaccine hesitancy, and (3) vaccine hesitancy predictors. We used a national survey of representatively sampled households (n = 13,021 adults) from October to December 2020. A self-report questionnaire asked about vaccination intention and reasons for hesitancy and gathered data on socio-demographic, demographic, psychological, and experiential factors. Our study indicated that 39.8% of the participants answered that they hesitated or refused to be vaccinated. The most common reason for vaccine hesitancy was a lack of confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine (77.9%). Less or no fear of COVID-19 (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.92-2.26; OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.54-2.08), unstable job status (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.18-1.70), decreased family income (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.21-1.61), and worsening health status (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.13-1.68) were predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Younger age, no religious affiliation, political conservatism, and lower family income were also significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy. Effective health communication and policies need to consider the target subgroup population and predictors of vaccine hesitancy to attain herd immunity at an early stage.