Vaccine fears linked to reduced number of flu shots

Adam Barnes
·3 min read
4

Story at a glance

  • The research showed that younger people reported greater vaccine related fears and experienced more stress-related symptoms during and following injection.

  • The study’s findings were the result of a series of surveys of more than 2,500 U.S. adults 18 and older over a two-year period.

  • Negative symptoms from the previous year’s flu-shot contributed to lower COVID-19 vaccinations.

Vaccine related fears can lead to lower numbers of flu vaccinations and increase the likelihood a person will experience negative symptoms, like dizziness and feeling lightheaded, during injection, a new study found.

The research showed that younger people reported greater vaccine related fears and experienced more stress-related symptoms during and following injection. Higher levels of fear were linked to more severe symptoms, researchers said.

“These symptoms have health and safety implications, because they increase the risk of falling,” the study’s lead author Jennifer Kowalsky, assistant professor of psychology at The Ohio State University Newark campus, said in a news release.

“For clinicians, it’s relevant to have this in mind, that fear can predict those reactions. If someone shares they are feeling fearful, keeping a close eye on them is important because they may be at risk for those feelings of dizziness or lightheadedness,” she added.

Vaccine related fears reduced both a person’s intentions and led to the decision not to receive a flu shot. Further, negative symptoms from the previous year’s flu-shot contributed to lower COVID-19 vaccinations.

The study also found previous vaccination status was not predictive of one’s willingness to receive a flu shot the following year

“We should not assume that a person who has been vaccinated in the past will automatically get vaccinated again,” Kowalsky added.

“People who are afraid to have blood drawn still give blood, and people who are afraid of vaccines still get vaccinated,” she said. “But knowing some don’t go through with getting a subsequent shot creates intervention opportunities to address the effect of fear on vaccine adopters. Their experience matters.”

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Researchers provided two possible explanations as to why younger people experienced greater fears and more stress-related symptoms when it comes to vaccines. It’s first possible that as we age and have more positive experiences with blood draws and injections, we tend to fear those procedures less. But researchers note that younger adults are also, in part, more susceptible to misinformation, and cited a study that younger adults held stronger misinformation beliefs around COVID-19 compared to older adults.

The study’s findings were the result of a series of surveys of more than 2,500 U.S. adults 18 and older over a two-year period.

Kowalsky’s first survey in October 2019 asked participants about the existence and severity of vaccine fears, receiving responses in May and June 2020 from 1,077 people. The survey also asked respondents if they planned to get a flu shot the following season and whether they would seek a COVID-19 vaccine once available.

For a final survey in June and July 2021, 643 remaining participants reported on whether they had received a flu and COVID-19 vaccine. 

An analysis of participants’ flu shot outcomes revealed fears reduced both a person’s intentions and led to the decision not to receive a flu shot. Further, negative symptoms from the previous year’s flu-shot contributed to lower COVID-19 vaccinations.

They also found previous vaccination status was not predictive of one’s willingness to receive a flu shot the following year

“We should not assume that a person who has been vaccinated in the past will automatically get vaccinated again,” Kowalsky added.

“People who are afraid to have blood drawn still give blood, and people who are afraid of vaccines still get vaccinated,” she said. “But knowing some don’t go through with getting a subsequent shot creates intervention opportunities to address the effect of fear on vaccine adopters. Their experience matters.”

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