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Attitudes to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in early life: findings from the multi-country cross-sectional CANDOUR study

Abstract:
We examined variation in attitude toward mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in early life by sociodemographic characteristics, personal COVID-19 experience, health risk attitude, political ideology, and other COVID-19 vaccine mandate attitudes. For this purpose, we used data from 19 928 participants from 16 countries surveyed in March– November 2022 for the second wave of the COVID-19 vaccine preference and opinion survey (CANDOUR). Analyses were adjusted for poststratification weighting. Participants who disagreed with early life mandatory COVID-19 vaccination were more likely to decline vaccination against COVID-19 (14.5%) compared with those who were neutral (1.8%) and those who agreed (0.5%). Disagreement with early life mandatory vaccination was associated with more unwillingness to take risks with their own health, being centre or left-wing on the left-right political spectrum, believing COVID-19 vaccination should be a personal choice, and being opposed to vaccine mandates for schoolchildren and the public. Neutrality or agreement with early life mandatory vaccination was associated with neutrality or agreement with a vaccine mandate for schoolchildren or a governmental COVID-19 vaccine mandate for everybody. Pandemic preparedness governance needs to focus on attitudes toward vaccine mandates. Further research and commitment by governments at various levels are needed to identify social, cultural, and system-level factors that could inform vaccination strategies to be implemented for the next pandemic.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Files:
Publisher copy:
10.1093/heapro/daag077

Authors

More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Nuffield Department of Population Health
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Nuffield Department of Population Health
Role:
Author
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
Politics & Int Relations
Oxford college:
Nuffield; Nuffield College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-1166-7674
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Nuffield Department of Population Health
Role:
Author


More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/00aps1a34
Grant:
NIHR203316
NIHR203311
More from this funder
Funder identifier:
https://ror.org/0187kwz08
Grant:
NIHR303806
NIHR200172


Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Journal:
Health Promotion International More from this journal
Volume:
41
Issue:
3
Article number:
daag077
Publication date:
2026-06-09
Acceptance date:
2026-05-11
DOI:
EISSN:
1460-2245
ISSN:
0957-4824


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
2430783
Local pid:
pubs:2430783
Deposit date:
2026-06-07
ARK identifier:

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