The association between social isolation and loneliness with COVID-19 vaccine uptake

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine uptake has plateaued at an unsatisfactory level, we must detect groups who are potential vaccine recipients. We examined social isolation and loneliness, increasingly recognised but neglected social determinants of health, as associated with being unvaccinated. Using a representative sample of the Japanese general population from Internet surveys (JACSIS 2021 and JASTIS 2022), social isolation was assessed using the Lubbern Social Network Scale and loneliness was assessed using the UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3. We used a multivariable logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of being unvaccinated in 2022 in socially isolated or lonely people after adjusting for demographics. In addition, we asked unvaccinated participants why they were not vaccinated. Our results show that people who were socially isolated were significantly less likely to receive information from people who had been vaccinated (11% vs. 15%), and less likely to have a negative impression of vaccination (27% vs. 19%) compared with people who were not socially isolated. Socially isolated people tended not to have had a COVID-19 vaccination even though they had no negative impression regarding the vaccine. Socially isolated people are important targets to reach to increase the number of vaccinated people.