OBJECTIVES: Several different coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines have already been authorized and distributed all over the world, including Hungary since December 2020, but vaccination rates and acceptance of the vaccines vary. We aimed to assess the factors influencing the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccinations.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey exploring the determinants of vaccination in May 2021. The survey included question on demographic and socio-demographics (such as age, gender, education, marital status, employment status, household size, monthly net household income, place of residence) factors, and respondents’ experience with COVID-19 infections and vaccination (registration was required in order to receive vaccination in Hungary).

RESULTS: Altogether 2,000 respondents filled out our survey, with the average age of 49.1 (SD=15.3), out of whom 370 respondents (18.5%) stated that they already had a COVID-19 infection. Altogether 1374 (67.4%) respondents received at least the first dose of vaccine, while 106 (5.3%) have registered to be vaccinated, and 547 respondents (27.4%) did not get the vaccine nor register to be vaccinated. We found that higher income and residence in the capital or county seats were associated with a higher probability of vaccination. The rate of vaccination was higher in the group aged above 65 years (85.6% vs. 63.7%) and male respondents had a higher rate of vaccination (73.3% vs. 63.7%), suggesting that they might be more willing to accept the vaccine. We found that education also has significant impact on vaccine acceptance (58.2% vaccinated in primary education. 79.2% in the tertiary education group).

CONCLUSIONS: Sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender, level of education and income might have significantly influenced respondent’s probability of vaccination in Hungary.