Individual factors influencing public’s perceptions about the importance of COVID-19 immunity certificates: a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey in the UK

Objectives To assess what were the main individual factors influencing people’s perception of the importance of using COVID-19 immunity certificates. Design Cross-sectional online survey. Setting Nationally representative survey in the UK, conducted on the 3 rd of August 2021. Participants Responses from 534 participants, aged 18 and older, residents of the UK. Interventions This was a cross-sectional survey and each participant replied to the same set of questions. Primary outcome measure and independent variables The primary outcome measure (dependent variable) was the participants’ perceived importance of using immunity certificates, computed as an index of six items. The following individual drivers were used as the independent variables: a) personal beliefs about COVID-19 (using constructs adapted from the Health Belief Model), b) personal views on vaccination, c) willingness to share immunity status with service providers, and d) variables related to respondents’ lifestyle and socio-demographic characteristics. Results Perceived importance of immunity certificates was higher among respondents who felt that contracting COVID-19 would have a severe negative impact on their health (β=0.2564, p=0.0000) and felt safer if vaccinated (β =0.1552, p=0.0000) . The prospect of future economic recovery positively influenced perceived importance of immunity certificates. Respondents who were employed or self-employed (β=-0.2412, p=0.0010) , or experienced an increase in income after the COVID-19 pandemic (β=-0.1287, p=0.0020) perceived less important the use of immunity certificates compared to those who were unemployed or had retired or those who had experienced reduction in their income during the pandemic. Conclusions The findings of our survey suggest that more vulnerable members in our society (unemployed or retired and those believing that COVID-19 would have a severe impact on their health) and people who experienced a reduction in income during the pandemic perceived the severity of not using immunity certificates in their daily life as higher.