Background: In 2021, Australia launched a national COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy, but encountered setbacks that resulted in negative press and media controversy. This study aimed to confirm factors influencing vaccine confidence and uptake in Australian adults and validate the use of a Vaccine Confidence Scale.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 15 to 21 September 2021, coinciding with the expansion of COVID-19 BNT162b2 vaccine eligibility to all adults in Australia. A voluntary online survey assessed vaccine confidence and influencing factors among adults (≥18 years of age). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors of high vaccination confidence (score >30) and uptake using odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals to measure effect size.

Results: Among 471 respondents, vaccine confidence (mean score 20/40) and uptake (29.7%) was low. Those who used government websites (OR 6.35; p < 0.001) and general practitioners (OR 4.05; p < 0.001), as sources of COVID-19 information, or had received a healthcare professional recommendation (OR 2.82; p < 0.01) were up to six times more likely to have high vaccine confidence, and were more likely to receive a vaccination. In contrast, the use of non-mainstream media and online sources decreased confidence and reduced the likelihood of vaccination by ~60% (OR 0.37; p < 0.05). The Vaccine Confidence Scale demonstrated potential as a tool for rapidly assessing vaccine confidence and predicting the likelihood of vaccine uptake.

Conclusion: Greater emphasis should be placed on raising awareness of trusted sources for vaccine information, and immunization programs should consider incorporating vaccine confidence tools to enhance communication strategies and encourage vaccine uptake.

Keywords: Australia; COVID-19; immunization; pandemic; vaccine hesitancy; vaccines.

Copyright © 2025 Williams, Saini, Zaidi and Castelino.

背景：

在2021年，澳大利亚启动了全国性的COVID-19疫苗接种策略，但遇到了挫折，导致负面报道和媒体争议。本研究旨在确认影响澳大利亚成年人疫苗信心和接种率的因素，并验证使用疫苗信心量表的有效性。

方法：

从2021年9月15日至21日进行了一项横断面研究，当时澳大利亚扩大了对所有成人的COVID-19 BNT162b2疫苗的接种资格。一项自愿在线调查评估了成年人（≥18岁）的疫苗信心和影响因素。使用多变量逻辑回归来识别高疫苗信心（得分>30）和接种率的预测因子，采用优势比（OR）及其95%置信区间来衡量效应大小。

结果：

在471名受访者中，平均疫苗信心得分为20/40，而接种率为29.7%，这些数据表明信心较低。使用政府网站（OR 6.35； p 结论：

应该更加重视提高可信信息来源在疫苗方面的意识，免疫项目应考虑纳入疫苗信心工具以增强沟通策略并鼓励疫苗接种。

关键词：

澳大利亚；COVID-19；免疫；大流行；疫苗犹豫；疫苗。