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Vol. 61 No. 1 (2025)
DOI: 10.4415/ANN_25_01_04
Original Articles
2025-03-17
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Exploring perceptions of vaccine safety: an Italian national survey on different COVID-19 vaccine formulations

Authors

Sara Boccalini , Claudia Cosma , Pietro Monaci , Andrea Guida , Beatrice Velpini , Gabriele Cerini , Fabrizio Chiesi , Paolo Bonanni , Angela Bechini

Abstract

Objectives. COVID-19 vaccines have proven effective and safe, enabling the resumption of normal life. However, misinformation has hindered vaccination efforts. This study aimed to investigate perceptions of vaccine safety among Italians through an anonymous
online survey. Study design. An anonymous online survey was conducted from April to July 2022 and disseminated through social platforms, among adult individuals living in Italy.
Results. A total of 1,329 individuals participated. Younger individuals and healthcare professionals showed greater trust in vaccines. Education level was significantly associated with perceived vaccine safety. Most respondents, including many healthcare workers
and highly educated individuals, believed vaccines to be safe, with confidence levels of 39.5% for mRNA, 32.9% for viral vector, and 39% for protein subunit vaccines. Younger age and trust in institutions were linked to higher confidence in all vaccine types.
Conclusions. These findings may be useful to further investigate the drivers of vaccine safety perceptions and their relationship with vaccine hesitancy and may help to develop more effective communication campaigns in the future.

Keywords: vaccination, SARS-COV-2, subunit vaccines, viral-vector vaccines, mRNA vaccines

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Authors

Sara Boccalini - Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9695-7549

Claudia Cosma - Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy. https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6958-0275

Pietro Monaci - Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.

Andrea Guida - Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1278-7053

Beatrice Velpini - Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.

Gabriele Cerini - Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.

Fabrizio Chiesi - Central Tuscany Local Health Unit (ASL Toscana-Centro), 50122 Florence, Italy.

Paolo Bonanni - Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2875-3744

Angela Bechini - Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6013-8779

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Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2025 Istituto Superiore di Sanità

How to Cite
Boccalini, S., Cosma, C., Monaci, P., Guida, A., Velpini, B., Cerini, G., Chiesi, F., Bonanni, P., & Bechini, A. (2025). Exploring perceptions of vaccine safety: an Italian national survey on different COVID-19 vaccine formulations. Annali dell’Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, 61(1), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.4415/ANN_25_01_04
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