Intra-household dynamics and attitudes towards vaccines: Experimental and survey evidence from zambia

This paper explores how intra-household dynamics relate to attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines by drawing on three novel surveys from Zambia. The first is a nationally representative, in-person household survey that asked all household members individually about their willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The second and third surveys involved conducting randomized experiments via social media and SMS messages testing how the impact of information about the benefits from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine on people’s willingness to get vaccinated varied based on intra-household dynamics. These data sources showed that people’s willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine was strongly correlated with the preferences of other household members. Both experiments found that respondents who received information emphasizing either individual or household benefits from getting a COVID-19 vaccine were more willing to get vaccinated than those in the control group. This information was more potent among respondents who believed other members of their household would not get vaccinated but did not have a larger impact on respondents who were involved in household decision making. These results illustrate that although household members tend to have similar attitudes toward vaccines, communicating accurate information about the benefits of getting vaccinated can counter intra-household dynamics that undermine acceptance.