COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Great Britain

A look at how the sentiment towards COVID-19 vaccinations differs in different regions, age groups and demographics in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Vaccine hesitancy includes those who: have been offered the vaccine but declined; are very or fairly unlikely to have the vaccine if offered; are neither likely nor unlikely to have the vaccine if offered; don’t know; preferred not to say.

The data for these visualisations was obtained from the ‘Coronavirus and vaccine hesitancy, Great Britain’ report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Regions

Between different regions, attitudes towards the vaccine do not vary too much. The highest levels of negative sentiment are in Wales and London (8%) and the lowest is in Scotland (4%).

Age and sex

The level of negative thought towards the COVID vaccine is larger amongst younger age groups. There is little variation between male and female sentiment, with the exception of the 16–29 age group where there is a 4% difference.

Ethnicity

The percentage of each ethnicity surveyed that had a form of hesitancy regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. On average, 14% of ethnic minority groups responded with hesitancy towards the vaccine, compared to only 5% of white respondents.

Employment status

The percentage of people who are hesitant towards the COVID vaccine is higher amongst the unemployed than the (self) employed or the economically inactive (members of the population that are not actively looking for work, e.g. a student). The sample sizes vary which means that clear conclusions can not be drawn.

Deprivation Level

The level of deprivation is measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)- which is the official measure of relative deprivation for small areas in England. Amongst the people surveyed, the level of hesitancy towards the COVID vaccine increased with deprivation. The respondents were split into
quintiles.

The combined graphic can be found on my Behance.