Revisiting the Correlation Between Vaccine Acceptance and Trust in Hospitals: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

The realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decision to control it through a worldwide vaccination programme brought to the forefront the debates about people’s attitudes towards vaccines and vaccination in general, and people’s attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, in particular. This study focuses on trust in hospitals, as a predictor of Romanians’ hesitancy towards vaccination. The study utilizes a longitudinal approach, examining data from two distinct periods: 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered public attitudes towards vaccination and may also have compromised the link, considered implicit before the pandemic, between the level of trust in the medical system and favorable attitudes towards vaccination.