Contextualizing educational differences in “vaccination uptake”: A thirty nation survey

- Combines reflexive modernization and protection motivation in explaining immunization.
- Effect of reflexive modernity does not differ for H1N1 and seasonal influenzas.
- Educational effect is contextual upon the reflexivity of society.
- Well-educated refuse seasonal flu vaccination more in reflexively modernized countries.

This paper addresses the issue of public acceptance of vaccination with specific attention being paid to the role of education in vaccine uptake. Using Flash Eurobarometer 287 (2009) survey data and exploring it through the lens of Beck's reflexive modernization and Roger's protection motivation theories we examined how individual-level factors affect intention to get vaccinated, particularly aimed at examining whether higher education predicts more or less vaccination intention in different societies. The empirical results support an idea that at least for seasonal flu educational differences in vaccination uptake are contextual upon the reflexivity of the society in which respondent happens to live. Educated people living in more reflexive modernized countries tend to oppose vaccination against seasonal flu more that those highly educated living in less advanced societies, indicating that skeptical attitude towards science that is intrinsic to the modern post-industrial nations induces the immunization opposition among most informed and distrustful social group.