Knowledge and identity antecedents of COVID-19 vaccine status: a study of South Carolina residents

INTRODUCTION: Despite over three years of learning about SARS-CoV-2 and extensive work to develop vaccines, vaccination rates remain suboptimal, thereby preventing our society from reaching herd immunity. PURPOSE: Extant literature on vaccine hesitancy led us to hypothesize that specific socio/political variables may be contributing to low vaccination rates, particularly in South Carolina. METHODS: By use of Qualtrics surveys, we collected data from people across all counties in South Carolina regarding vaccine status, plans to vaccinate, and a host of demographics. RESULTS: Findings revealed that those less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 tended to be younger, female, republican. Interestingly, COVID-19 knowledge did not appear to differ between vaccination status groups, although COVID-19 vaccine and general vaccine knowledge did differ. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that while understanding of COVID-19 was relatively similar across groups, targeted and tailored interventions aimed at enhancing the public’s general and COVID-19-specific vaccine knowledge may aid efforts to reach herd immunity.