Vaccine Survey: Scientists' View on Vaccination Policies

General Overview
Study Date:
4.4.23 - 5.1.23
Geographic Coverage:
United States
Expertise:
69.4% Biology 30.6% Public Health
Response Overview
Sample Size:
831
Valid Responses:
316
Response rate:
38%
Date initial findings posted:
6.28.23
Most recent update:
6.28.23
Days survey in field:
28
Average response time:
10.1 min.
Survey Demographics
Respondent Demographics:
39.8% Female60.2% Male100% Academic0% Industry
Language(s):
English

The survey sample was weighted by gender and academic field to represent the population as closely as possible. The measure of sampling error for questions answered by the full sample is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

This section of the survey asked scientists about their views on policy decisions to reduce vaccine hesitancy. In the broader survey, we asked scientists a variety of questions about their views on why vaccine hesitancy has increased in the US population. You can view more results from the survey here. 

Question
What do you believe is the risk/benefit tradeoff associated with each of the following potential decisions that might be considered during a time of national pandemic emergency similar to the threat level and communicability of COVID-19?
scientist views on FDA regulation to expedite covid 19 vaccines
Finding

Majorities believe that the benefits either somewhat or greatly exceed the risks of expediting the diagnostics needed to test for active infections by either streamlining (87%) or suspending (60%) parts of FDA approval processes.

While majorities also believe that the benefits either somewhat or greatly exceed the risks of expediting approval of vaccines by regulatory process streamlining (78%), many fewer (31%) feel the same about suspending parts of FDA approval processes.

Question
For each, of the following statements, please indicate whether it is consistent or inconsistent with your personal beliefs.
graph showing scientists' opinions on the most effective policy frames to reduce vaccines hesitancy
Finding

Almost two-thirds (64%) indicated that the statement “mandatory immunization laws are critical for protecting public health” are consistent with their personal beliefs.

More than three-quarters (77%) believe that the statement “compulsory immunization laws unnecessarily limit personal freedoms” are not consistent with their beliefs.

A majority (51%) responded that “policies that persuade are always better than policies that coerce” is consistent with their beliefs.

In contrast, there is considerable disagreement regarding the statement “the best vaccination strategy is to empower individual decision-making,” as 42% selected somewhat consistent with their beliefs, while 36% chose not consistent with their beliefs, and 22% selected very consistent with their beliefs.

Question
Would you favor or oppose the regulation of social media platforms to prevent vaccine misinformation?
scientist views on regulating social media to fight vaccine misinformation
Finding

56% of scientists strongly favor some form of social media regulation as a means of preventing vaccine misinformation.

Female scientists were more likely than male scientists to strongly favor regulation of social media platforms to precent vaccine misinformation (71% and 46%, respectively; mean difference=0.53, t=4.9, p<.01).

Question
Recently, the Biden administration halted the implementation of the Department of Homeland Security’s newly created Disinformation Governance Board to coordinate countering misinformation related to homeland security. Do you think there should be a similar government body tasked with countering misinformation and disinformation related to vaccine risks and benefits?
scientist views on whether the Biden Adminstration should have a committee on countering vaccine misinformation
Finding

Three-quarters of all respondents (79%) think there should be a government body to address vaccine-related misinformation and disinformation related to vaccine risks and benefits; 21% oppose the idea.

Female scientists are more likely than male scientists to support the idea (mean difference=0.1, t=2.6, p<.01)

Question
How much of a controversy is there in the science community regarding the value of FDA approved vaccines?
scientist opinions on the amount of controversy surrounding FDA approved vaccines
Finding

A little over one-quarter (78%) of scientists contend that there is no controversy or not very much controversy in the science community about the value of FDA approved vaccines.

Approximately one in five (22%) respondents believe there is somewhat, very much or extreme controversy in the scientific community regarding the value of vaccines.

Subgroup analyses revealed that respondents in public health were more likely than biologists to believe there is a controversy in the science community about the value of vaccines (mean difference = 3, t=2.7, p<.01)

Question
How much are each of the following groups responsible for generating controversy about vaccines?
scientist opinions on who is to blame for vaccine controversy
Finding

Most scientists believe that most of the responsibility for the vaccine controversy rests with politicians (87% very or extremely responsible) and disinformation campaigns (90% very or extremely responsible).

The second tier of responsible actors includes journalists (58% very or extremely responsible) and the general public (32% very or extremely responsible).

Few respondents identified scientists (7%) or healthcare workers (7%) as responsible for the vaccine controversy.

Question
In your opinion, what is the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic?
scientist views on the origin of COVID-19 pandemic
Finding

A majority of respondents (59%) indicated that animal-to-human transmission is the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A smaller proportion (15%) believe that a laboratory leak was the source, and one-fifth were uncertain about the origin of COVID-19.

Among the remaining scientists (5%) who selected ‘something else’, some believe the origin of COVID-19 is too uncertain and complex, while others think the origin is a combination of a laboratory leak and animal-to-human transmission.

Question
Have you ever deliberately decided not to get a vaccination when one was recommended?
scientist personal decisions to not get vaccinated
Finding

A small percentage of our sample (15%) reports that they had “deliberately decided not to get a vaccination when one was recommended.”

This national survey on academic scientists in the US was conducted by the Center for Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Studies (CSTEPS) at Arizona State University. The survey was approved by Institutional Review Boards at Arizona State University.

The sample for this survey was selected from our SciOPS panel. The SciOPS panel is recruited from a random sample of PhD-level faculty in four fields of science. Contact information of faculty in the fields of biology was collected from randomly selected Carnegie-designated Research Extensive and Intensive (R1) universities in the United States (US). Contact information of faculty in the field of public health was collected from all CEPH accredited public health schools. The full sample frame for recruiting the SciOPS panel includes contact information for 9649 biology and public health faculty. 831 eligible biology and public health faculty consented to become SciOPS panel members, representing AAPOR recruitment rate (RECR) was 8.8%.

This national survey obtained a total of 316 usable responses, representing an individual survey completion rate of 38% and an AAPOR Cumulative Response Rate (CUMRR) of 3.3%.

Survey Description

Sample weighting and precision: The sample of respondents for this survey was weighted by the inverse of selection probabilities and post-stratified probabilities by gender, academic field and academic rank to represent the full sample frame for recruiting SciOPS panel members as closely as possible. A conservative measure of sampling error for questions answered by the sample of respondents is plus or minus 5 percentage points.