Comparison of Current Attitudes Toward COVID-19 Vaccination in New York City and the US Nationally

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics, COVID-19 experience and treatment with pharmaceutical medications

	NYC		US
	n	%	n	%
Age Groups
18–29	562	22.5	171	17.1
30–39	495	19.8	158	15.8
40–49	398	15.9	171	17.1
50–59	391	15.6	184	18.4
60+	654	26.2	316	31.6
Gender
Man	1163	46.5	487	48.7
Woman	1276	51.1	508	50.8
Prefer not to say/Non-binary or Other	60	2.4	5	0.5
Education (university degree)
No	1522	60.9	643	64.3
Yes	978	39.1	357	35.7
Race/ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino of any race	727	29.1	158	15.8
White or Caucasian	801	32.1	651	65.1
Black or African American	537	21.5	92	9.2
Asian	356	14.3	31	3.1
Other or multiple races	78	3.1	16	1.6
Prefer not to say	–	–	51	5.1
Health care worker
Yes	419	16.8	168	16.8
Physician	91	3.6	55	5.5
Nurse	79	3.2	33	3.3
Community health worker	99	4.0	32	3.2
Other healthcare worker	150	6.0	48	4.8
No	2081	83.2	832	83.2
COVID-19 experience	1122	44.9	441	44.1
Self/family member sick within the past year	441	17.6	183	18.3
Self/family member sick more than a year ago	937	37.5	376	37.6
None
COVID-19 medications when sick with COVID-19 within the past year
Pharmaceutical medications*	212	18.9	103	23.2
Don’t know	205	18.3	53	11.9
No Pharmaceutical medication	705	62.8	286	64.8

Note. n is unweighted, % is weighted to reflect NYC and US population, respectively. Pharmaceutical medications include Paxlovid, Molnupiravir (lagevrio), Monoclonal antibodies (olumiant/baricitinib), Ivermectin, Corticosteroids.

Table 2. COVID-19 vaccine and booster acceptance and hesitancy

	NYC		US
	n	%	n	%	aOR	95%CI
Vaccine acceptance/hesitancy
Acceptance	2209	88.4	802	80.2
Hesitancy	291	11.6	198	19.8	.51	(.39, .66)
Acceptance details
At least one dose received	961	38.4	384	38.4
At least one dose received and boosted	1197	47.9	403	40.3
Will take vaccine when available	52	2.1	15	1.5
Booster acceptance/hesitancy among vaccinated
Acceptance	1732	80.3	685	87
Hesitancy	426	19.7	102	13	1.50	(1.12, 1.99)
Booster acceptance details
Boosted	1197	55.5	403	51.3
Will take booster when available	534	24.8	281	35.7

Note. n is unweighted, % is weighted. Vaccine acceptance was defined as having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and if not, willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to respondents. Vaccine hesitancy was defined as having reported “no” to the question on whether they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and also either unsure/no opinion, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree to the question on whether they would take a COVID-19 vaccine when available to them. COVID-19 booster acceptance among vaccinated in June 2022 was defined as having received at least one dose of a booster and if not, willingness to take the booster when it is available to respondents. Booster hesitancy among vaccinated was defined as having reported “no” to the question on whether they have received at least one booster dose and also either unsure/no opinion, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree to the question on whether they would take a booster when available to them. Vaccination was defined as either partially or fully vaccinated. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95%CI are from weighted multivariable logistic regressions (outcome: hesitancy vs. acceptance (reference); NYC vs US, adjusted for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity).

Table 3. COVID-19 vaccine for children acceptance and hesitancy

	NYC			US
	n		%	n	%	aOR	95%CI
Among all parents
Child vaccine Acceptance	770		73.4	297	66.9
Child vaccine Hesitancy	279		26.6	147	33.1	.71	(.53, .96)
Child vaccine acceptance details
Child vaccinated	624		59.5	233	52.5
Will take child vaccine when available	146		13.9	64	14.5
Among parents who received at least one dose
Child vaccinated	607		67	224	66.6
Will take child vaccine when available	127		14	57	17.1
Child vaccine Hesitancy	172		19	55	16.3	1.17	(.79, 1.71)
Among parents hesitant to vaccinate themselves
Child vaccinated	16		13.3	8	8.6
Will take child when available	8		6.5	1	1.1
Child vaccine Hesitancy	98		80.2	88	90.3	.38	(0.12, 1.20)

Note. n is unweighted, % is weighted. Vaccine acceptance for children among parents was defined as child having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and if not, willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to them. Vaccine hesitancy for children among parents was defined as having reported “no” to the question on whether children received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and also either “unsure/no opinion,” “somewhat disagree,” or “strongly disagree” to the question on whether children will take COVID-19 vaccine when available to them. Parent vaccine hesitancy was defined as having reported “no” to the question on whether parents received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and also either “unsure/no opinion,” “somewhat disagree,” or “strongly disagree” to the question on whether parent will take COVID-19 vaccine when available to them. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95%CI are from weighted multivariable logistic regressions (NYC vs US, adjusted for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity) for the following outcomes: 1) Child vaccine hesitancy vs. child vaccine acceptance (reference), 2) Child vaccine hesitancy vs. child vaccine acceptance (child vaccinated or will take child vaccine when available combined) among parents who received at least one dose (reference), 3) Child vaccine hesitancy vs. child vaccine acceptance (child vaccinated or will take child vaccine when available combined) among parents hesitant to vaccinate themselves (reference).

Figure 1. Support for COVID-19 vaccination mandates overall and by vaccine acceptance/hesitancy.

Note. Support=strongly agree or somewhat agree with a statement (1) Employers should require that their employees take a COVID-19 vaccine, (2) The government should require people to take a COVID-19 vaccine, (3) Universities should require students to take a COVID-19 vaccine, (4) School children should be required to take a COVID-19 vaccine, (5) Proof of vaccination should be required to enter indoor activities like cinema auditoriums, concerts and sports arenas, (6) Proof of vaccination should be required for international travel. Statistically significant (p < . 05) differences (noted with *) between NYC and US respondents overall and by vaccine acceptance/hesitancy are from weighted multivariable logistic regressions (outcome: support; NYC vs US, adjusted for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity).

Figure 2. Agreement with statement about risk, trust, safety, equity, and efficacy overall and by vaccine acceptance/hesitancy.

Note. Agreement=strongly agree or somewhat agree with a statement. Statistically significant (p < .05) differences (noted with *) between NYC and US respondents overall and by vaccine acceptance/hesitancy are from weighted multivariable logistic regressions (Outcome: agreement; NYC vs US, adjusted for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity).

Table 4. Attention to new information about COVID-19 vaccines, beliefs about vaccination protection against long-COVID, current vaccination intent and COVID-19 treatment preference

	NYC		US
	n	%	n	%	aOR	95%CI
Attention to new information about COVID-19 vaccines
Pay more attention than a year ago	699	28	306	30.6
About the same amount of attention as a year ago	1110	44.4	403	40.3
Pay less attention than a year ago	691	27.7	291	29.1	.96	(.78, 1.17)
Belief that the COVID-19 vaccine protects against Long-COVID
Yes	1222	48.9	483	48.3	.95	(.78, 1.14)
No	492	19.7	211	21.1
Unsure	786	31.4	306	30.6
Current vaccination intent vs. perceived severity of disease
Less likely to vaccinate because of lesser perceived disease severity	508	20.3	231	23.1	.91	(.72, 1.15)
Not less likely to vaccinate because of lesser perceived disease severity	1500	60	632	63.2
Unsure	492	19.7	137	13.7
Current COVID-19 treatment preference
Prefer to prevent illness by getting vaccinated and/or treat the disease with medication (like a pill) if got sick	2126	85.1	786	78.6
Prefer to not take a vaccine or a medication	157	6.3	135	13.5	.47	(.34, .65)
Don’t know	216	8.7	79	7.9

Note. n is unweighted, % is weighted. Statements: 1) I continue to pay attention to new information about COVID-19 vaccines. 2) Long-COVID has been defined as “symptoms that can last for weeks or months after recovery from acute illness.” I believe the COVID-19 vaccine protects against Long-COVID. 3) I am less likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine because I believe the disease is not as severe as before. 4) Thinking about treatments for the disease COVID-19, would you prefer to take a vaccine to prevent serious illness, take medication once you are sick, or not take any medications at all?. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95%CI are from weighted multivariable logistic regressions (NYC vs US, adjusted for age, gender, education, race/ethnicity) for the following outcomes: 1) Pay less attention than a year ago vs. other response categories combined (reference), 2) Yes vs. other response categories combined (reference), 3) Less likely to vaccinate because of lesser perceived disease severity vs. other response categories combined (reference), 4) Prefer not to take a vaccine or medication for COVID-19 vs. other response categories combined (reference).