Course: COVID-19 Vaccination Preferences of University Students and Staff in Hong Kong
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2022-05-17
Key Points
Question What are the preferences of university students and staff regarding COVID-19 vaccination in Hong Kong?Findings In this survey study that included 3423 university students and staff, 7 attributes considering vaccine efficacy and safety, incentive for vaccination, and cost were assessed. Preferences on all attributes were found to be significant, with quarantine-free travel and vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 infection the most preferred factors; participants were less concerned about duration of protection and risk of potential mild to moderate adverse events.
Meaning The results of this study could support and promote COVID-19 vaccination through a better understanding of the perceived barriers and preferences among university students and staff.
Abstract
Importance COVID-19 has required universities to rapidly develop vaccination policies for students and staff, yet little is known about the preferences of these individuals toward vaccination.Objective To quantify student and staff preferences for COVID-19 vaccination at a university in Hong Kong.
Design, Setting, and Participants A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted from July 20 to September 21, 2021, before the announcement of a campus-wide vaccine mandate. A survey of 42,451 eligible university students and staff used discrete-choice experiment methods to quantify 7 attributes of COVID-19 vaccination: risk of a mild or moderate adverse event after vaccination, risk of a severe adverse event after vaccination, efficacy against COVID-19 infection, efficacy against severe manifestation of COVID-19 infection, duration of protection after vaccination, incentive for completing vaccination, and out-of-pocket costs.
Main Outcomes and Measures A mixed logit regression model was used to estimate the preferences of attributes for COVID-19 vaccines and marginal willingness to pay (mWTP) adjusted for background characteristics, role, vaccination, and COVID-19 infection status of family or friends, adverse event status after vaccination among family and friends of participants, and scenario block.
Results Among 42,451 eligible university students and staff invited, 3423 individuals completed the survey (mean [SD] age, 27.1 [9.9] years; 2053 [60.0%] women). Participants included 2506 students (73.2%) and 917 staff (26.8%), with a response rate of 8.1%. Quarantine-free travel was preferred (??=-0.86; 95% CI, 0.72-0.99; mWTP: $235.9; 95% CI, $190.3-$294.2), followed by efficacy against any COVID-19 infection (??=-0.30; 95% CI, 0.29-0.32; mWTP: $84.1; 95% CI, $71.8-$100.8), against severe manifestation of COVID-19 infection (??=-0.25; 95% CI, 0.24-0.27; mWTP: $69.7; 95% CI, $465-$653), and risk of severe adverse events following vaccination (??=?-0.24; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.21; mWTP: ?$66.8; 95% CI, ?$81.5 to ?$55.3). Participants were less concerned about protection duration (??=-0.17; 95% CI, 0.15-0.18; mWTP: $46.0; 95% CI, $38.6-$56.2) and risk of mild to moderate adverse events (??=?-0.12; 95% CI, -0.13 to -0.10; mWTP: ?$32.7; 95% CI, ?$41.2 to ?$26.4).
Conclusions and Relevance Preference of all attributes were significant and were considered important by the participants for vaccine decision-making. Insights drawn could assist policy makers in future vaccination decisions, such as campus vaccine mandate and requirement of a third dose.
Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
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