vaccine hesitancy

noun

plural vaccine hesitancies

: the reluctance or refusal to have oneself or one's children vaccinated

Vaccine hesitancy can contribute to the continued spread of disease because vaccinations are not being administered.

—Fred Steiner

Scientists are expressing concern over what they call "vaccine hesitancy" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Katie Camero

WHO [World Health Organization] notes that measles cases have increased by 30 percent across the globe, and while not all cases are due to vaccine hesitancies, some countries that had nearly eliminated the disease have seen its return.

—Katie Gillespie

Examples of vaccine hesitancy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Haro-Ramos co-authored a study published in 2024 that found many Latinos were hesitant to get vaccinated because of fears about their immigration status, and that experiencing health discrimination like care denials or delays increased their vaccine hesitancy. —Phillip Reese, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025

Pediatricians and family doctors are on the front lines of the effort, addressing parents’ vaccine hesitancy and concerns. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2025

In fact, amid broader vaccine hesitancy following the pandemic, the CDC held focus groups to craft a new message. —Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025

Yet despite the success of COVID vaccines, the pandemic also coincided with an increase in vaccine hesitancy or distrust worldwide, fueled in part by anti-vax activism. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2002, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

vaccine hesitancy

noun

: the reluctance or refusal to have oneself or one's children vaccinated

Scientists are expressing concern over what they call "vaccine hesitancy" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Katie Camero, The Miami Herald

Reasons for vaccine hesitancy fit into 3 categories: lack of confidence (in effectiveness, safety, the system, or policy makers), complacency (perceived low risk of acquiring VPDs [vaccine preventable diseases]), and lack of convenience …

—Shixin Shen and Vinita Dubey, Canadian Family Physician

WHO [World Health Organization] notes that measles cases have increased by 30 percent across the globe, and while not all cases are due to vaccine hesitancies, some countries that had nearly eliminated the disease have seen its return.

—Katie Gillespie, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington)