The project has national remit and will use representative samples of the UK adult population for each wave of data collection. The data will include cohorts of participants similar in profile to the south London population. When the full dataset is available subgroup analyses will enable us to focus on specific groups, such as people with specific comorbidities.
The research will be carried out through prospective cross-sectional surveys, delivered through a virtual platform repeated at 4 quarterly intervals over a 12-month period, from July 2020. The survey content will be informed by published theoretical frameworks, evidence on vaccination acceptability, vaccination programmes national/international implementability, known barriers/drivers and public perceptions of vaccination.
The research team are collaborating with King's College London’s NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response and Keele University.
The longitudinal design which provides results of a period of time), enables tracking of fluctuations in vaccine acceptability as the pandemic continues and to respond to any unforeseen events, such as adverse vaccine trials as the vaccine launch approaches. Knowing these fluctuations will enable the research team to deliver three policy briefs to inform communications with the NHS, Public Health England and World Health Organization.
The study is funded by King's Together Covid-19 Funding - Social Science & Humanities (ROUND 2) and will be completed by June 2021. It was adopted by ARC South London in September 2020.