Relationship between double COVID-19 vaccine uptake and trust in effectiveness and safety of vaccination in general in 23 Member states of the European Union: an ecological study

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between double COVID-19 vaccine uptake and trust in effectiveness and safety of vaccination in general in 23 European Union (EU) countries. METHODS: Ecological study. Data was retrieved from the Flash Eurobarometer 494 and Our World in Data. We estimated Pearson’s correlation coefficients and fitted multiple linear regression models. RESULTS: There is a negative linear correlation between the percentage of people doubly vaccinated and the percentage of low trust in vaccine effectiveness (r = -0.48, p-value = 0.021), and the percentage of low trust in vaccine safety (r = -0.43, p-value = 0.041). There is a negative adjusted relation between the percentage of low trust in vaccine safety and the percentage of people doubly vaccinated (aβ(% low trust in vaccine)(safety):-0.25; 95% CI: −0.49,-0.01, p-value = 0.045). CONCLUSION: An increase in health literacy of people living in certain countries in the EU may be needed to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake.