Gender can have a substantial effect on vaccine demand, access and uptake. Early data suggests that as of March 2021, women are being vaccinated at slightly higher rates than men globally (comprising 56% of vaccinations across 29 countries with available data). Policies to promote widespread uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is critical for effective control of the pandemic, should recognise and address underlying gendered barriers. Obstacles to men's access include stigmatisation around vaccine uptake and employment environments that restrict access to vaccine delivery points during open hours. In some settings, women's low decision-making power and high care demands in the home, as well as lack of financial resources and access to information, can hinder their access to vaccines.1Gavi The Vaccine Alliance. Gender and immunisation.
https://www.gavi.org/our-alliance/strategy/gender-and-immunisation Studies in Europe2Neumann-Böhme, S., Varghese, N.E., Sabat, I. et al. (2020) Once we have it, will we use it? A European survey on willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The European Journal of Health Economics. 21, 977–982. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-020-01208-6, the UK3Paul, E., Steptoe, A., Fancourt, D. (2021). Attitudes towards vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: Implications for public health communications. The Lancet Regional Health Europe. Volume 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2020.100012 and the US4Callaghan, T., Moghtaderi, A., Lueck, J. A., Hotez, P. J., Strych, U., Dor, A. Franklin Fowler, E. and Motta, M., (2020) Correlates and Disparities of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3667971 have indicated that women may be less likely than men to accept the COVID-19 vaccine.
Related resource: The 2021 GH5050 Report Gender equality: Flying blind in a time of crisis provides an analysis of the gender-responsiveness of the of global health actors.
Roughly 1 in 10 countries mentioned gender in their vaccination uptake policies. Of the 58 policies reviewed across 37 countries, 91% were gender-blind.
Gender-sensitive vaccination interventions that were identified included monitoring vaccine uptake by demographic characteristics including gender and recognition of the high representation of women in the health and social care workforce when analysing causes of vaccine hesitancy among these groups.
‘Vaccination uptake will be assessed in an ongoing manner to track the implementation of the programme and acceptance of the vaccination in the populations targeted [...]. Analysis will be carried out on uptake by demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, area of residence, [Health Service Executive] region […], workplace settings for [healthcare workers] [...], occupational or clinical risk group.’
‘Special efforts will be made to engage communities in planning, implementation, tracking and reporting on the progress with the vaccination. To ensure maximum success, a focus on healthcare workers [...], gender, vulnerable groups, ethics and transparency will be accorded high priority as part of the plan.’
‘The adult social care workforce has a higher percentage of women and people from ethnically diverse communities than the general population of England, and evidence shows that people in these groups are more likely to be hesitant about taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Reasons for health and social care workers being hesitant include lack of knowledge about the vaccine, misinformation and mistrust of government and perceptions of equality and discrimination in health and public services.’
