Fifty-eight percent of physicians globally feel confident in prescribing an FDA/EMA-approved vaccine, with US physicians the least confident in government policies about vaccine safety, rollout among those polled
With vaccine hesitancy threatening the ability for a potential COVID-19 vaccine to protect the public, new data show more than half of US and UK physicians surveyed feel confident in prescribing an FDA/EMA-approved vaccine. These physicians estimate that 42% of US patients are vaccine hesitant, the highest level in the survey. Respondents were Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) and their respective international counterparts from seven countries including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Canada. Findings were sourced by SurveyHealthcareGlobus (SHG), the global market leader of first-party healthcare data collection and custom survey solutions and part of the Apollo Intelligence, LLC family.
SHG's global COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy research found that on average physicians estimate 36% of their patients will be hesitant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. UK physicians report the lowest levels of hesitancy, at 27%, while German physicians estimate 41% of their patients will be hesitant, rivaling the US, at 42%.
US physicians were the least confident in government policies about vaccine safety and vaccine rollout among those polled (33% and 26% respectively), with German physicians the most confident (54% and 51% respectively).
"For decades global health entities have pushed to eradicate patient vaccine hesitancy for proven vaccines. Our data shows that physicians in the West are demonstrating hesitance themselves for COVID-19 vaccines in development," said Daniel S. Fitzgerald, CEO and president of Apollo Intelligence, parent firm to SHG. "Their focus on the importance of education, awareness, and transparency in the vaccine development process provides helpful guidance for vaccine developers and international public health leaders."
Twenty-two percent of global physicians report that patients with co-morbidities will be the most reluctant to take a COVID-19 vaccine, with these sentiments highest in Spain (27%) and Canada (30%). Other demographics include the elderly, with 21% of global physicians reporting their potential hesitation. Patients with pre-existing conditions (19%), immune-compromised (16%), and disabled (13%), were also noted by global respondents.
In the US, physicians expect that 24% of African-American and Latino minorities will be leery to receive the vaccines.
Confidence in the efficacy (10%) and safety (8%) of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine reflects the lowest levels for the seven topics addressing governmental agency approvals. Worldwide, physicians think vaccine distribution should prioritize residents of long-term care facilities (46%) and people with underlying medical conditions (38%). One physician noted:
"Patient education and myth busting in media is vital. We'll need to ensure there's adequate supply from the start of the campaign, and adequate resource for practices to deliver vaccine program en masse. We will also need to ensure real-time communication of vaccination status across the healthcare system to enable opportunistic vaccination where unvaccinated." -UK, General Practitioner
SHG's Global COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Report included perceptions from n=484 Primary Care Physicians (PCPs)-and their respective international counterparts-in the US (n=95), UK (n=43), France (n=89), Germany (n=71), Italy (n=57), Spain (n=52), and Canada (n=77), and was fielded between September 5-9, 2020. Respondents prescribe at least 5 vaccines per month. For the complete findings, please download the full report.
About SurveyHealthcareGlobus
SurveyHealthcareGlobus, an Apollo Intelligence brand, has been providing access to physicians, allied healthcare professionals, payers, decision makers, and key opinion leaders worldwide for more than 15 years. It provides project management, sample access and custom survey solutions to a variety of market research firms, management consulting firms, big data companies, and a variety of other users of healthcare data collection. For more information, visit www.surveyhealthcareglobus.com.
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