• Li Ping Wong, Haridah Alias, Pooi-Fong Wong, Hai Yen Lee, and Sazaly AbuBakar.
• Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2020 Sep 1; 16 (9): 2204-2214.

BackgroundThe development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection is on the way. To prepare for public availability, the acceptability of a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to pay (WTP) were assessed to provide insights into future demand forecasts and pricing considerations.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted from 3 to 12 April 2020. The health belief model (HBM) was used to assess predictors of the intent to receive the vaccine and the WTP.ResultsA total of 1,159 complete responses was received. The majority reported a definite intent to receive the vaccine (48.2%), followed by a probable intent (29.8%) and a possible intent (16.3%). Both items under the perceived benefits construct in the HBM, namely believe the vaccination decreases the chance of infection (OR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.19-5.26) and the vaccination makes them feel less worry (OR = 2.19, 95% CI 1.03-4.65), were found to have the highest significant odds of a definite intention to take the vaccine. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) for the amount that participants were willing to pay for a dose of COVID-19 vaccine was MYR$134.0 (SD±79.2) [US$30.66 ± 18.12]. Most of the participants were willing to pay an amount of MYR$100 [US$23] (28.9%) and MYR$50 [US$11.5] (27.2%) for the vaccine. The higher marginal WTP for the vaccine was influenced by no affordability barriers as well as by socio-economic factors, such as higher education levels, professional and managerial occupations and higher incomes.ConclusionsThe findings demonstrate the utility of HBM constructs in understanding COVID-19 vaccination intention and WTP.

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