COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy: Could Health Literacy be the Solution?

Abstract

Objective: Practices such as the use of masks, cleaning measures, and social distancing have come to the fore to prevent the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition to this, the most important way to fight the pandemic seems to be vaccination. However, vaccine hesitancy is seen as an important obstacle to attempts to control the pandemic. With this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of having inadequate or incorrect information, one of the possible determinants of attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: The data of this descriptive study were collected via an online questionnaire from patients (N=496) involving Sociodemographic Data Form, Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 and Anti-Vaccine Scale. Results: The data revealed that 7.5% of the participants would not be vaccinated and 14.3% were indecisive. We found a negative correlation between vaccine refusal and health literacy, thus confirming the main hypothesis of our study. Also, an increase in education years was a negative predictor of vaccine hesitation. Conclusion: Currently, the most important approach in fighting the pandemic is the vaccination of society. Having the right information is extremely important to fight vaccine refusal attitudes. The fight against vaccination requires joint efforts from governments and media resources, including social media.