Overview

As part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Equity-First Vaccination Initiative, the Foundation’s partners in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Oakland are collecting and analyzing survey data about COVID-19 vaccination with support from Mathematica. The black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities’ monthly vaccination pulse survey serves to support the Equity First Vaccination Initiative by providing up-to-date evidence about community members’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to Covid-19 vaccination, as well as potential motivators for vaccination and barriers to access. This evidence can then be used to inform the Foundation and its partners’ strategies on how to encourage vaccine uptake and will allow community-based organizations (CBOs) in these jurisdictions to adapt their work to the specific and changing needs of their communities.

Highlights

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021 DATA

• Trends in barriers, motivators, and attitudes towards vaccination over time: Between July 2021 through December 2021:

  • The top barrier reported by unvaccinated respondents across all cities was being worried about getting sick or experiencing side effects from the vaccine (51-64% of respondents in each city in November and December).

  • The top potential motivator for unvaccinated respondents across all cities was wanting more time to wait and see whether the vaccine works (37-51% of respondents in each city in November and December).

  • Few unvaccinated respondents report thinking the vaccine is safe or effective (14-29% of respondents in each city in November and December).

• Booster Shots: Among survey respondents that had received a Covid-19 vaccine already, many said they intended to get a booster shot or have gotten one already (39-72% of respondents in each city), but many were also undecided about getting a booster shot (22-50%).

• Child Vaccinations: Many respondents (both vaccinated and unvaccinated) who are parents of children under 18 years old  reported wanting more time to wait and see before getting their unvaccinated children their first Covid-19 vaccine, and were concerned about potential side effects of the vaccine for their children. The majority of vaccinated parents reported believing the vaccine is safe and effective in children, and that the vaccine will help to protect the health of their family and community. Very few unvaccinated parents reported having these beliefs.

SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2021 DATA

• Barriers: As in July and August, the top barrier reported by unvaccinated respondents across all cities in September and October was being worried about getting sick or experiencing side effects from the vaccine (43-66% of respondents in each city). The second most common concern reported was being worried about having to miss work in order to get the vaccine (12-23%).

• Motivators: The top potential motivator for unvaccinated respondents across all cities was wanting more time to wait and see whether the vaccine works (30-53% of respondents in each city). More time to “wait and see” was also the top motivator in July/August. Only a small share of respondents said that a vaccine requirement for work or for other activities would potentially motivate them to get the vaccine (2-19%).

• Attitudes and Beliefs: Unvaccinated survey respondents in all cities reported being concerned that there was not enough information on how the vaccine might interact with other health conditions (55-71% of respondents in each city) and concerned that the vaccine was developed too quickly compared with other vaccines (54-72%). These were also among the top concerns reported by unvaccinated respondents in July and August. Less than one third of unvaccinated respondents reported thinking that the vaccine was safe or effective (6-29%).

• Booster Shots: Among survey respondents that had received a Covid-19 vaccine already, many said they intended to get a booster shot or have gotten one already (38-64% of respondents in each city), but many were also undecided about getting a booster shot (30-48%).

SEPTEMBER 2021 DATA: SPOTLIGHT ON HOUSTON AND NEWARK

Motivators:

• About half of the unvaccinated respondents in Newark and 41% in Houston reported that more time to wait and see if the vaccine works was a potential motivator for getting the Covid-19 vaccine.

• Other respondents reported wanting more research on side effects, or being concerned that the vaccine wouldn’t work for them. Some respondents also reported that nothing would motivate them to take the vaccine.

Trusted Messengers:

• Among the unvaccinated respondents, there were no messengers that the majority of unvaccinated respondents trusted to provide them with information about  the Covid-19 vaccine. However, about one quarter of unvaccinated respondents in Newark and 44% in Houston reported that they trusted their doctor/health care provider a great deal.

• In contrast, over 60% of vaccinated respondents in both cities had a great deal of trust in doctors, and in Houston 63% of vaccinated respondent also reported trusting scientists.

JULY - AUGUST 2021 DATA

• Barriers: More than half of the unvaccinated survey respondents reported being worried about getting sick or experiencing side effects from the vaccine.

• Motivators:  A large portion of unvaccinated survey respondents reported wanting more time to see whether the vaccine works.

• Attitudes and Beliefs: Unvaccinated survey respondents in all cities reported being concerned that the vaccine was developed too quickly compared with other vaccines. In Chicago, Newark, and Oakland, unvaccinated respondents were highly concerned that there was not enough information on how the vaccine might interact with other health conditions.

  See below for more detail and city-specific results: