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Unmasking vaccine hesitancy and refusal: a deep dive into Anti-vaxxer perspectives on COVID-19 in Spain
Ángela Prieto-Campo1, Olalla Vázquez-Cancela2,3, Fátima Roque4,5,6
1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain. angela.prieto@rai.usc.es.
Background:
At the time of the emergence of COVID-19, denialist and anti-vaccine groups have also emerged and are shaking public confidence in vaccination.
Methods:
A qualitative study was conducted using online focus groups. Participants had not received any doses of vaccination against the disease. A total of five focus group sessions were conducted with 28 participants. They were recruited by snowball sampling and by convenience sampling.
Results:
The two major topics mentioned by the participants were adverse effects and information. The adverse effects described were severe and included sudden death. In the case of information, participants reported: (1) consultation of websites on which scientists posted anti-vaccination content; and (2) distrust.
Conclusions:
At a time when anti-vaccine groups pose a major challenge to public health in general, and to COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in particular, this study is a first step towards gaining deeper insight into the factors that lead to COVID-19 vaccine refusal.
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