Chasing Herd Immunity: Vaccination Strategies of Russians in the Context of Various Forms of Enforcement to Vaccination

Abstract

The focus of the analysis is the vaccination strategies of Russians highlighted on the basis of representations about the effectiveness of mass vaccination and the prospects for reaching the herd immunity, preferences to rely on individual or herd immunity, as well as the availability of vaccination or plans to be vaccinated. The vaccination strategies are regarded as individual decisions based on an assessment of the current situation and an interpretation of what herd immunity is and whether it is achievable. In this context, herd immunity is not just a coincidence but the result of large-scale collective action. In the absence of a generally shared understanding of herd immunity and whether it is achievable, Russians prefer to rely on themselves and their health. By introducing various vaccination requirements and restrictions for the unvaccinated, the state is trying to act as a coordinator of collective action. However, an attempt to impose external demands is regarded by people as a form of enforcement of vaccination. Enforcement exerted on a single individual increases the chances of her/his vaccination but causes a repulsive effect among her/his circle of familiars. Based on data from an all-Russian telephone survey (N = 1 503, conducted by the Foundation “Public Opinion”) and eight focus groups with supporters and opponents of vaccination from different cities of Russia, we show that various forms of enforcement of vaccination increase the risk of radicalization of relations between the state and society and also contribute to an even greater separation of individual and public interests.

Acknowledgments. I express my gratitude to anonymous reviewers as well as to my colleagues – G. Kertman, A. Reynyuk, A. Bobrova, E. Zakutina, and A. Oslon – for their valuable comments, support in difficult moments, and the opportunity to discern general patterns in particular cases without which this article would hardly have turned out the way it is.