Inadequate intention to receive Covid-19 vaccination: indicators for public health messaging needed to improve uptake in UK

Data promising effective Covid-19 vaccines have accelerated the UK’s mass vaccination programme. The UK public’s attitudes to the government’s prioritisation list are unknown, and achieving critical population immunity will require the remaining majority to accept both vaccination and the delay in access of up to a year or more. This cross-sectional observational study sent an online questionnaire to registrants of the UK National Health Service’s largest personal health record. Question items covered willingness for Covid-19 vaccine uptake and attitudes to prioritisation. Among 9,122 responses, 71.5% indicated wanting a vaccine, below what previous modelling indicated as critical levels for progressing towards herd immunity. 22.7% disagreed with the prioritisation list, though 70.3% were against being able to expedite vaccination through payment. Age and female gender were, respectively, strongly positively and negatively associated with wanting a vaccine. Teachers and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups were most cited by respondents for prioritisation. This study identifies factors to inform the public health messaging critical to improving uptake.