Health Beliefs Surrounding COVID-19 Vaccination

Four constructs of HBM included the perceived severity of COVID-19 infection, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection, perceived benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine, and perceived barriers to getting a COVID-19 vaccination. They were measured through five-point scales (from strongly oppose = 1 to strongly agree = 5) to indicate the beliefs of participants about COVID-19 and vaccination, which were adapted from previous studies (Freeman et al., 2020; Wong et al., 2020).

The perceived severity of COVID-19 infection was measured by four items: (1) “COVID-19 is fatal if a person becomes infected”; (2) “A lot of serious complications can be caused by COVID-19”; (3) “Complications can still happen after recovering from COVID-19”; and (4) “I will be very sick if I get COVID-19” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.877). The Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection was measured by three items: (1) “I am worried about the likelihood of getting COVID-19”; (2) “My likelihood of getting COVID-19 in the next few months is high”; and (3) “Getting COVID-19 is currently a possibility for everyone” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.874). The perceived benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine were measured by four items: (1) “Taking the COVID-19 vaccine would reduce the risk of COVID-19 and its complications”; (2) “Taking the COVID-19 vaccine is a responsible behavior for the family”; (3) “Getting the vaccine is a sign of contributing to the country and society in fighting against COVID-19”; and (4) “Taking the COVID-19 vaccine will give me complete freedom to get on with life just as before (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.866). The Perceived barriers to vaccination were measured by five items: (1) “I lack basic knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine”; (2) “I worry about the quality of the COVID-19 vaccine”; (3) “The COVID-19 vaccine has not been sufficiently developed and vaccination is risky”; (4) “I worry about the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine”; and (5) “Taking the new COVID-19 vaccine will make me feel like a guinea pig” (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.910).