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People’s willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is related to the presumed trust doctors have in the vaccines

4 August, 2022

"The simple fact that up to 90% of doctors plan to get vaccinated increases long-term demand for COVID-19 vaccines,” says Michal Bauer of CERGE-EI in Prague in an interview with the economic journalist David Klimeš.  

A research study published by Bauer and his co-authors in the June 2022 issue of the leading scientific journal Nature shows a large discrepancy between the assumptions of the population and the actual views of the medical profession and suggests that correcting public misperceptions about medical doctors' opinions persistently increases Covid-19 vaccinations.

This podcast was produced with the support of the Czech Academy of Sciences programme Strategie AV21.

Co-authored by Vojtěch Bartoš, Michal Bauer, Jana Cahlíková and Julie Chytilová, the study shows that public misperceptions about doctors' views on Covid-19 vaccinations reduce willingness to get vaccinated. The study documents that the vast majority of medical doctors in the Czech Republic trust and support vaccination, but that there is a widespread belief among the public that doctors’ opinions are divided and that only about half trust the vaccines. Informing people that there is a broad positive consensus among doctors persistently increases vaccination uptake by the public. Thus, effectively communicating doctors' true views can play an important role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Original research paper: Vojtěch Bartoš, Michal Bauer, Jana Cahlíková and Julie Chytilová (2022): Communicating doctors’ consensus persistently increases Covid-19 vaccinations.
Nature, June 1,

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04805-y

Read the full Press Release issued on June 1, 2022