Public Views on Priority Groups for COVID-19 Vaccination: A Survey from Iran

 In the initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program, prioritizing population groups is inevitable due to limited supply. Currently, most of the allocation strategies are focused on individuals’ characteristics.

 The present study aimed to assess the opinions of Iranian population in specifying high-priority individuals and groups for COVID-19 vaccination.

 An online survey was conducted using some popular social media in Iran. The data was collected from Iranian population (878 individuals) aged 18 years and older during the COVID-19 pandemic (2 - 20 May 2020) to investigate their opinions towards vaccine allocation strategies at the family and society levels. In vaccine prioritizing within family three option and in vaccine prioritizing within society, seven population groups were introduced by the respondents in a random order, respectively. To analyze the data, mean rank and univariate analysis was used.

 Healthcare workers, high-risk patients, and the elderly were the first priority groups for a vaccination with a mean rank of 2.8, 2.8, and 3.8, respectively. The least priority group was policymakers and executive managers (mean rank = 5.75). At the family level, 64% of the respondents introduced one of the family members as the first priority for vaccination, followed by their children (29%) and themselves (7%). No significant relationship was observed between respondents’ characteristics and their prioritization in vaccine prioritizing within society.

 Although involving public preference in decision-making is a key factor for the success of policies, careful design and implementation of vaccination programs through considering risk-benefit assessment is strongly recommended.