COVID-19 vaccines have helped the world fight this pandemic in a better way. Several studies have proved how beneficial these vaccines are. Despite all this, there are certain people who are not ready to get inoculated against COVID-19. A study has now found the possible reason behind it. According to a study, there is a link between reluctance or refusal to get vaccinated with traumatic events in childhood. The study, which was conducted by researchers from Bangor University, UK, and colleagues, showed that vaccine hesitancy was three times higher among those who had experienced four or more types of trauma – like neglect, domestic violence, or substance misuse in the family – as a child than it was among other who did not experience any such thing.
The finding of the study has been published in the journal BMJ Open. Researchers analysed whether childhood trauma was in any way linked to current levels of trust in health systems information, support for and compliance with COVID-19 restrictions and also the willingness to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The responses from the people involved in the study were based on a nationally representative telephone survey of adults living in Wales, United Kingdom. Their responses were taken between December 2020 and March 2021 during which there were restrictions in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infection.
While 6,763 people were initially contacted for responses, only 2,285 people met the eligibility criteria by answering all the questions and were finally included in the analysis. The team, including researchers from Public Health Wales and Liverpool Hope University, found that at least 1 in 5 people part of the survey had experienced one type of trauma, around 1 in 6 reported 2-3, and 1 in 10 reported four or more types of trauma.
Increasing numbers of childhood traumas were independently associated with low levels of trust in National Health Services COVID-19 information, feeling that government restrictions were unfair, and wanting mandatory face coverings to be ditched. Those who had experienced four or more types of trauma during childhood had a strong desire to end social distancing. It was also found that vaccine hesitancy was more among those with a childhood trauma count of four or more and higher in younger age groups.