Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/265683 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 15462
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We investigate whether COVID-19 deaths that occurred before vaccination rollouts impact subsequent vaccination take-up. We use data on local vaccination rates and COVID-19-related deaths from England measured at high geographic granularity. We find that vaccination take-up as of November 2021 is positively associated with pre-vaccine COVID-19-related deaths, controlling for demographic, economic, and health-related characteristics of the localities, while including geographic fixed effects. In addition, the share of ethnic minorities in a locality is negatively associated with vaccination rates, and localities with a larger share of ethnic minorities increase their vaccination rates if they are exposed to more COVID-related-deaths. Further evidence on vaccination intention at the individual level from a representative sample corroborates these patterns. Overall, our evidence suggests that social proximity to victims of the disease triggers a desire to take protective measures against it.
Subjects: 
vaccination hesitancy
COVID-19
social interactions
information
behavior change
JEL: 
H51
I12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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