C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH; Shannon C. Walker, MD; Robert J. Samuels, MBChB
Vaccine hesitancy, identified in 2019 by the World Health Organization as one of the major threats to global health, has become a potentially more important issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a year of worldwide morbidity, mortality, social distancing, and lockdowns, and despite the development of several clinically tested and efficacious vaccines, not everyone is willing to be vaccinated. In light of the devastating health, economic, and social effects of the pandemic, the availability of effective vaccines represents an important component of the hope to return society to normalcy.