vaccine hesitancy

noun

plural vaccine hesitancies

: the reluctance or refusal to have oneself or one's children vaccinated

Vaccine hesitancy can contribute to the continued spread of disease because vaccinations are not being administered.

—Fred Steiner

Scientists are expressing concern over what they call "vaccine hesitancy" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Katie Camero

WHO [World Health Organization] notes that measles cases have increased by 30 percent across the globe, and while not all cases are due to vaccine hesitancies, some countries that had nearly eliminated the disease have seen its return.

—Katie Gillespie

Examples of vaccine hesitancy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rise in vaccine hesitancy, exemptions Despite the protectiveness of the MMR vaccine, CDC data show vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years and the percentage of exemptions have risen. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 1 Mar. 2025

Lingering vaccine hesitancy from the pandemic is prompting more parents to opt out of common childhood shots, often with nonmedical religious exemptions. —Adriel Bettelheim, Axios, 14 Feb. 2025

These cultural identities explain why, for example, research finds that science-skeptical behaviors, such as vaccine hesitancy and climate denialism, tend to cluster in social and geographical pockets. —Anne Toomey, The Conversation, 12 Feb. 2025

As vaccine hesitancy spreads, as states allow for religious or philosophical vaccine exemptions, and as vaccine mandates are removed, more unvaccinated children have become susceptible. —Dr. Eve Meltzer Krief, New York Daily News, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2002, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

vaccine hesitancy

noun

: the reluctance or refusal to have oneself or one's children vaccinated

Scientists are expressing concern over what they call "vaccine hesitancy" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Katie Camero, The Miami Herald

Reasons for vaccine hesitancy fit into 3 categories: lack of confidence (in effectiveness, safety, the system, or policy makers), complacency (perceived low risk of acquiring VPDs [vaccine preventable diseases]), and lack of convenience …

—Shixin Shen and Vinita Dubey, Canadian Family Physician

WHO [World Health Organization] notes that measles cases have increased by 30 percent across the globe, and while not all cases are due to vaccine hesitancies, some countries that had nearly eliminated the disease have seen its return.

—Katie Gillespie, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington)