The economic and social determinants of vaccine hesitancy in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic affected all countries both in social and economic dimensions. Currently, vaccination is considered to be one of the most efficient solutions which can stop the further spread of the virus. Therefore, the paper aims to understand the factors that determined the social approval of the COVID-19 vaccines in Romania. To get a detailed picture on the situation, we looked not only at economic variables, but also at social and demographic components. Accordingly, the findings of the analysis list the variables that significantly influence the vaccination rate nationwide. The social approval (or the refusal) of these shots is a complex issue, thus it is essential that policymakers make decisions based on scientific evidence. The practical relevance of the paper lies in the two policy implications suggested (i.e., transparent and predictable policymaking and adjustments on the level of the education system in the long run for similar situations), which also highlight the importance of evidence-based decision-making processes in public health. Our analysis method consists of multivariate cross-sectional OLS regressions.