Abstract
The study of willingness to accept and pay for a COVID-19 vaccine in Thailand aims to 1) explore the prevalence of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots 2) factors associated with accepting the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots 3) reasons and willingness to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots and 4) the policy recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots. This study conducts 3 phases. Phase 1 is to study the prevalence and factors of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots by cross-sectional research of having vaccinated COVID-19 group and having not been vaccinated COVID-19 group, covered four regions in Thailand, by an online survey questionnaire. The total sample is 1,740 used multiple stratified sampling techniques. Data analysis were by a descriptive statistic and multiple logistic regression. Phase 2 is associated with exploring the reasons and willingness to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots. The developed questionnaire is from an online survey. Data analysis is a descriptive statistic. The results from phase 2 are defined policy recommendations. Phase 3 is an expert and stakeholder meeting to propose and discuss policy recommendations. The result showed 86.38% of respondents reported the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Respondents had no vaccination accounting for 9.16%, 10.76%, and 53.19% for the first, second, and third doses, respectively. 66.72% of the respondents accepted to have the next dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Only 8.22% of the respondents refused the COVID-19 vaccine. One-third of the respondents received their desired COVID-19 vaccine. Factors related to the willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots were an intention to take the vaccine, vaccine efficacy, attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine, some doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, age, living area, having Influenza vaccination history, medical personnel, and income. Reasons and willingness to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots were self-efficacy, safety, and proof by WHO. The main reason for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine was negative news on vaccines. Whereas the main reasons for the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were protecting themselves, the safety of their families, social responsibility, herd immunity, and safety of their co-workers. One-fifth of respondents reported the willingness to pay for a booster shots vaccine between 1-5,000 Thai baht. News objectivity, in a particular vaccine against the severity of illness more than prevention, increased confidence towards the vaccine to higher-educated and higher-income groups, promoted a campaign for a single status group, priority groups for vaccination, combating fake news, and developed efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine created in Thailand were the policy recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine booster shots in Thailand.
