Using structural equation modeling to predict Indian people's attitudes and intentions towards COVID-19 vaccination

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Understanding people's attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccination is crucial to the successful implementation of a vaccination program. Hence this research study seeks to identify critical factors influencing Indian people's attitudes and intentions to take up Covid-19 vaccinations. METHODS: An online questionnaire was administered to a sample (n = 254) drawn from Indian population, to assess the impact of perceived benefits, risk perceptions, social media exposure, social norms, and trust associated with Covid-19 vaccines on people's attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccines and their intentions to take up the Covid-19 vaccinations. RESULTS: The findings showed that the perceived benefits, social norms, and trust correlated significantly with people's attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccinations. In contrast, risk perceptions and social media exposure showed an insignificant influence on people's attitudes towards Covid-19 vaccinations. Social norms, trust, and people's attitudes towards the Covid-19 vaccinations are significantly correlated with their intentions to take up Covid-19 vaccinations. On the contrary, social media exposure was found to have an insignificant influence on people's intentions to take up Covid-19 vaccinations. CONCLUSION: Participants' intentions to take up Covid-19 vaccinations was influenced mainly by their attitudes and perceptions of Covid-19 vaccines in general, which strongly confirms the importance of various dimensions (perceived benefits, trust, social norms) of Covid-19 vaccines in cultivating Covid-19 vaccination acceptance among participants’.