Correlation of geopolitics, education, democracy with COVID-19 vaccination rate

Abstract

Introduction: Vaccine hesitancy is an ongoing problem and determining the factors that increase the vaccination rate in various countries of the world might be useful for further implementation of efficient public health policies and negating anti-vaccination campaigns. Materials and methods: Human Development Index (HDI), Education Index (EI), Democracy Index (DI), COVID-19 vaccination rates, COVID-19 data were collected from public sources such as UNDP - Human Development Reports, UNESCO - Education Index, Economist Intelligence, WHO– COVID-19 Dashboard, Our World In Data, The Financial Times COVID-19 Dashboard. Statistical analysis such as Pearson correlation, and linear regression analyses were done to determine a relation between the above-mentioned indices and COVID-19 vaccination rates (1-dose, 2-dose, booster, and combined). Results: HDI had the strongest positive correlation with the vaccination rates (1-dose– r (181) = 0.632, p < 0.001, 2-dose– r (181) = 0.671, p < 0.001, booster– r (181) = 0.718, p < 0.001, combined– 0.703, p < 0.001). EI (1-dose– r (177) = 0.560, p < 0.001, 2-dose– r (177) = 0.599, p < 0.001, booster– r (177) = 0.642, p < 0.001, combined– 0.626, p < 0.001), DI (1-dose– r (163) = 0.445, p < 0.001, 2-dose– r (163) = 0.479, p < 0.001, booster– r (163) = 0.534, p < 0.001, combined– 0.508, p < 0.001), as well as Geographic location (1-dose– η (Eta) = 0.610 p < 0.001, 2-dose– η (Eta) = 0.633 p < 0.001, booster– η (Eta) = 0.657, p < 0.001, combined– η (Eta) = 0.645, p < 0.001) had positive correlation with vaccination rates. Conclusion: There is a strong positive correlation of COVID-19 vaccination rates with HDI and EI.