Role of Perceived Social Support in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among U.S. Adults

Introduction: Vaccine uptake concerns in the U.S. were at the forefront of public health discussions during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2022, approximately 80% of the U.S. population was vaccinated against the virus. This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among U.S. adults. Methods: Using nationally representative cross-sectional data on 21,107 adults from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, we assessed the COVID-19 vaccination rates across individuals with strong, some, and weak levels of social support. Multivariable logistic regression models were estimated to obtain the odds of being vaccinated in adults with different levels of perceived social support for the full sample and subsamples of age groups. Results: Adults with weak social support were 21.1% less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than adults with perceived strong social support. Apart from ages 18–24 years, the lower likelihood of being vaccinated for adults with weak social support was evident in ages 25–49 years (AOR=0.66, 95% CI=0.52, 0.85), ages 50–64 years (AOR=0.67, 95% CI=0.50, 0.90), and ages ≥65 years (AOR=0.56, 95% CI=0.41, 0.75). Conclusions: These findings are consistent with a broader literature indicating that social support increases the likelihood of healthy behaviors and decreases risky behaviors. Interventions designed to improve the perception of social support, particularly among those at high risk of mortality from COVID-19, may be a promising tactic for increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake.