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To understand mRNA vaccine hesitancy, stop calling the public anti-science

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of mRNA vaccines and provided proof of concept for this new approach to protect humans against infectious diseases, as well as other diseases such as cancer. However, the use of mRNA technology depends on the public’s attitude toward it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA technology was a factor in vaccine hesitancy in many countries, as some people feared potential side effects of this new technology1.

In France, COVID-19 vaccine coverage has reached 93% in the adult population, more than 9 of 10 vaccines administered have been mRNA vaccines, and the public considers mRNA vaccines to be safer and more effective than other available vaccines2. However, by the summer of 2022, and again in the summer of 2023, half of those vaccinated reported still having doubts about the vaccine they had received3.

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Fig. 1: Opinions on mRNA vaccines.
Fig. 2: Patterns of trust according to participants’ opinion on the statement “There is still a lot we don’t know about the long-term side effects of mRNA vaccines”.

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Acknowledgements

This study was part of a project labeled as a National Research Priority by the National Orientation Committee for Therapeutic Trials and other research on COVID-19 (CAPNET). The investigators would like to acknowledge ANRS|Emerging infectious diseases for their scientific support and the French Ministry of Health and Prevention and the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation for their funding and support. This work was also supported by a grant from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-22- CE36-0015-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité des Virus Émergents (UVE), Aix-Marseille Univ, Università di Corsica, IRD 190, INSERM 1207, IRBA, Marseille, France

    Patrick Peretti-Watel

  2. ORS Paca, Southeastern Health Regional Observatory, Marseille, France

    Patrick Peretti-Watel & Pierre Verger

  3. CERMES3 (INSERM, CNRS, EHESS, Université de Paris), Villejuif, France

    Jeremy K. Ward

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  1. Patrick Peretti-Watel
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  2. Pierre Verger
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  3. Jeremy K. Ward
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Jeremy K. Ward.

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Peretti-Watel, P., Verger, P. & Ward, J.K. To understand mRNA vaccine hesitancy, stop calling the public anti-science.
Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02816-y

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  • Published: 27 February 2024

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02816-y

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