Willingness and uptake of the COVID-19 testing and vaccination in urban China during the low-risk period: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Regular testing and vaccination are effective measures to mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence on the willingness and uptake of the COVID-19 testing is scarce, and the willingness and uptake of vaccination may change as the pandemic evolves. This study aims to examine willingness and uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination during a low-risk period of the COVID-19 pandemic in urban China. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 2244 adults in urban China. Descriptive analyses were performed to compare the respondents' willingness and uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination. Multivariate logistic regressions were fitted to investigate factors associated with the willingness and uptake of the two measures. RESULTS: In early 2021, about half (52.45%) of the respondents had received or scheduled a COVID-19 test at least once, and a majority (95.63%) of the respondents were willing to receive testing. About two-thirds (63.28%) of the respondents had received/scheduled or were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Willingness and uptake of COVID-19 testing were not associated with socio-demographic characteristics, except for occupation. Being of older age, migrants, having higher educational attainment and secure employment were associated with a higher uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among the surveyed respondents, while willingness to vaccinate was consistent across socio-demographic characteristics among those who had not been vaccinated. CONCLUSIONS: By early 2021, Chinese adults expressed almost universal willingness of COVID-19 testing and over half of adults have been tested, while the willingness and uptake of COVID-19 vaccination were relatively low at the low-risk period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining willingness of COVID-19 vaccination is critical and necessary, especially when the pandemic evolved into a low-risk period.

Public Interest in Distribution and Determinants of Influenza and Pneumonia Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Infodemiology and Cross-Sectional Study from China.

BACKGROUND: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, global interest in influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines has increased significantly. We aimed to examine public interest in and actual market circulation of influenza and pneumonia vaccines before and after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 and estimate the coverage and determinants of influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake following the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We obtained search volume data for vaccines using the Baidu search index and collected the numbers of vaccines issued from the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control. We also conducted a cross-sectional survey among 3346 adult residents to evaluate the coverage and determinants of influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake in the Yangtze River delta, China, from 29 January to 4 February 2021. RESULTS: Public searches and the number of vaccines issued for the influenza vaccines and pneumonia vaccines obviously increased after the initial outbreak of COVID-19. In the total sample, 12.5% were vaccinated against influenza, and 21.5% had at least one family member vaccinated against pneumonia. A minority of participants perceived that they were highly or very highly susceptible to influenza (15.9%) and COVID-19 (6.7%). A range of socio-economic factors and perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 were associated with influenza and pneumonia vaccination uptake. CONCLUSIONS: Public interest in and issued volumes of influenza and pneumonia vaccines increased nationally following the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceptions of high susceptibility to COVID-19 were associated with the uptake of the influenza and pneumonia vaccines. Targeted interventions were needed to improve vaccination coverage.