Covid-19 vaccinations, self-reported health, and worldviews – A representative survey from Germany

Abstract

The novel modRNA vaccinations against Covid-19 were hailed as an immense progress, but indications for severe side effects were noted. We wanted to know to what extent people report having had diseases during the last two years that are associated with Covid-19 vaccinations, and whether there is a difference between those vaccinated and those without vaccinations. We also wanted to know whether the willingness to be vaccinated is associated with particular worldviews.

We therefore conducted a representative internet survey, organized by Debaro GmbH, Munich, a professional survey company. The final sample was prepared to yield an approximately representative sample of the German population. Altogether 1051 responses were analyzed. Vaccinated persons reported significantly more events that required the visit of a doctor (42% versus 30%, p = 0.0024), more Covid-19 infections (30% vs. 23%, p = 0.0535) and more musculoskeletal problems (21% vs. 15%, p = 0.059). Vaccinated respondents reported significantly more diseases overall (mean 1.6±1.6 vs. 1.3±1.4; p = 0.0023). We analyzed the likelihood to be vaccinated by a logistic regression model. The vaccinated were more likely to be older, have German nationality, to have higher income, to live alone, to have been taking more medications and to know someone who died of Covid-19 but no one who might have died after Covid-19 vaccination. Further, a materialist worldview was positively associated with the probability of getting vaccinated, while the belief that there are other realms of reality more important than everyday reality and that these realms are beyond any scientific explanation was negatively related. In addition, the belief that mRNA vaccinations help humankind was a highly significant predictor of the probability to be vaccinated. Finally, a propensity score analysis accounting for sociodemographic variables and pre-vaccination health status confirmed that Covid-19 occurred more frequently in vaccinated individuals (31% vs. 23%, p=0.103). Again, the belief that mRNA-based vaccines are beneficial to humanity was significantly more present among the propensity-score matched vaccinated compared to the unvaccinated group (agreed/disagreed/uncertain: 34.6%/30.8%/34.6% versus 22.9%/45.2%/31.9%, p=0.0075).

This self-report survey supports the view that the Covid-19 vaccinations have produced some side-effects that need to be further investigated, preferably by hard data from insurance companies or similar organizations.