Public preferences and willingness to accept a hypothetical vaccine to prevent a pandemic in Japan: a conjoint analysis

ABSTRACT

Objectives

Understanding public vaccine acceptability is critical to preparing for future pandemics. This research investigated Japanese individuals’ willingness to be vaccinated against a hypothetical infectious disease.

Methods

A conjoint analysis was conducted with a general public panel via an Internet survey agency. Vaccine efficacy, vaccine safety, duration of immunity, and price were chosen as analysis attributes. Each respondent chose from 12 hypothetical scenarios using an online panel.

Results

From the 2,155 complete responses, 51,720 results were extracted and analyzed. Higher efficacy, lifetime immunity duration, and fear of the pandemic positively affected willingness to be vaccinated, while higher vaccination price and higher toxicity had negative effects. The number of infected individuals and deaths had no significant impact. A total of 69.2% of the study population reported being willing to receive a vaccine with 100% efficacy, lifetime immunity, and low toxicity and free of charge.

Conclusions

This study assessed the preferences for vaccines against infectious diseases with the potential to become pandemics during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. This result can influence vaccine-related policy and pandemic preparedness and help governments consider public intention to prepare health communication campaigns that encourage vaccination.

KEYWORDS:

• Infectious disease
• prevention
• vaccine
• pandemic
• willingness to accept
• Japan

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Rei Goto, Dr. Ichiro Wada, Mr. Masami Morita and Mr. Minoru Ito for their valuable suggestions.

Author contributions

A Igarashi supervised this work. All authors set the conceptual framework for this research, contributed to the discussion, and approved the final version of the report.

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially funded by the Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research in Japan and the research fund of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan (Researches on cost-effectiveness evaluations of vaccines from payers' and societal perspective. Chief investigator: Shunya Ikeda, 20HA1004).