Language skills and education levels play a crucial part in vaccine acceptance in Germany

A recent report by the Robert Koch Institute determined that a migratory family background played a very minor role in determining a person’s willingness to get the Covid vaccine

Yesterday, the Robert Koch Institute in Germany published a detailed report outlining some of the causes of vaccine hesitance. Acceding to its findings, a migration background plays a minor role in the decision-making process and so does the country of origin. 

Instead, researchers say that income, age, education and German language skills are much more relevant factors, contributing to the decision-making process. To account for said low German language skills, the study was carried out in five languages.

According to recent data, more than 75% of Germans are vaccinated and, although that number is relatively high, it is still below the supposed required threshold to achieve herd immunity. The recent spike in cases is a testament to that address, with the country currently at around 250,000 cases per day.

At the same time, the vaccination rate is a significant factor in the relatively low mortality rate. The mortality rate peaked in mid-December 2021, well before the current wave of infections was underway.

Tracking attitudes across different demographics

The researchers looked at 2,000 people split into two equal groups. One group with an immigration background in the family and a vaccination rate of 84% and the other, which did not have that background, whose vaccination rate was 92%. 

When looking at language skills compared to vaccination rates, however, the situation starts to change. Those born with the knowledge of German or with very good language skills had a vaccination rate of 92%. The rate amongst those with middling language skills was 83% and among those with very poor skills, the rate was 75%.

Age played a part in determining willingness to get vaccinated as well, as those aged 18 to 29 had a rate of 93%. At the same time, those between 30 and 39 had the lowest rate in both immigrant background and non-immigrant background groups.  

According to the research, low educational qualifications and previous experience with discrimination in the health system also played a negative effect on vaccination decisions in both groups.  

The spread of misinformation

Similarly, researchers found out that an immigrant background has little weight when it comes to the dissemination of misinformation. The study looked into some particularly prevalent false claims.

It turns out that 58% of people with an immigrant background believed that vaccination poses a risk to the reproductive system. In the non-immigrant group, that number was 51%. Moreover, half of the people in the first group believed that the Covid vaccine contained chemicals at toxic levels, compared to 40% in the non-immigrant background group.

A further 51% believed that the vaccine could change human DNA, compared to 41% among the non-immigrant background group.