vaccine] was pushed through fast.” Another respondent echoed this concern: “I worry about rushed clinical trials leading to an unsafe vaccine” (#59), specifically citing the clinical trial period as the most concerning feature of the approval process. Other respondents focused on the process as a whole: “I think that this vaccine needs to follow all the clinical trials and protocols that all vaccines follow and not be rushed through or cut corners. Seems to me this is the case which is why I will not be taking it” (#78). Other respondents stated, “they are rushing it seems” (#85) and described the COVID-19 process as a “race to release” (#311). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 8690 5 of 9 3.3. Do Not Want to Be among the First to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccination Respondents frequently described their hesitancy and desire to wait and observe the effects of the vaccination on others. This perspective was succinctly documented by one respondent: “I would like to wait a bit longer to see if any long-term side effects appear before getting the vaccine” (#746). Another respondent connected being in a higher risk age category as justification for her “wait and see” approach. This respondent stated she “will not be vaccinated when they first come out. I am 79 years old. I will wait a few months to see how it goes” (#226). Another respondent echoed this sentiment: “Would like more time. I do not want to be a guinea pig for I am too old” (#238). Another respondent, selfidentified as a vaccine coordinator and nurse, articulated her concerns: “I am the vaccine coordinator/nurse for my clinic, so I am a great promoter of vaccinations. However, unless I was required by my employer, I would not take the COVID vaccination at immediate release” (#311). 3.4. A Lack of Trust in Those Developing the COVID-19 Vaccination Respondents reported distrust in the people, politicians, and for-profit companies responsible for the development of the COVID-19 vaccination. One respondent described distrust related to “the people developing this [COVID-19] vaccine,” with this respondent noting that individuals involved with the COVID-19 vaccine development were “untrustworthy” (#149). Another respondent stated that for-profit COVID-19 vaccine development negatively impacted her trust: “Trusting a vaccine that a company will profit from greatly causes a small about of doubt for me” (#534). Another respondent described his distrust with the motivations and trustworthiness of those working to develop vaccines. This respondent stated, “I don’t trust it, because the people developing this vaccine are untrustworthy” (#149). Other respondents cited the highly politicized approval process in their comments: “With the current administration handling of COVID-19 I don’t trust the efficacy of a vaccine” (#85). Another respondent also identified the political process of vaccine development as affecting her decision regarding vaccinating her children: “This vaccination has become such a political topic. I would not vaccinate myself or my children until it had been on the market longer” (#311). 3.5. A Lack of Trust in Vaccines in General Other respondents noted a general distrust of vaccines. Respondents drew on personal experiences with flu vaccines to describe distrust of vaccines in general. One stated: “I have had flu shots in the 42 years of nursing and I always got sick, the times I did not get a flu shot I was fine. So no I wont take a shot” (#338). Another respondent also linked experiences with the flu vaccines to general distrust of vaccines. She stated that she “[looks] at a COVID vaccine the same way [she does] a flu vaccine” and that she has “never gotten the [flu] shot or the flu” (#185). Fear of vaccinations in general was also reported. One respondent noted that he wanted “the option to walk away [from a vaccination] without being made to feel bad because I was afraid” and he closed his comment stating “please, no forced injections” (#187). Another respondent focused her comments on pharmaceutical companies, expressing a blanket negative opinion of vaccines. She expressed disbelief that any individual would trust “JOHNSON & LYING JOHNSON & Pfizer” in particular and stated her suspicion that vaccines are deadly and supported by “lies” (#601). One respondent described her views of vaccines, referring broadly to vaccines as “eugenics on steroids” (#456). This respondent used sarcasm to describe salient aspects of vaccination, stating, “Vaccines, so safe they need to be force mandated at gunpoint. Vaccines, so safe the manufactures are not held accountable for the damages their vaccines cause. Vaccines, so safe they have to have a secret vaccine court that has paid out over $5 billion for vaccine damages. How are unvaccinated people a threat if vaccines worked???” (#456). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 8690 6 of 9 4. Discussion Vaccination has become an increasingly important topic for global health and for public health responses to pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article used qualitative methods to understand and document the thoughts and feelings of respondents regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Respondents described their perspectives in their own words, allowing a detailed analysis of salient features of vaccination beliefs of individuals who expressed concerns about the COVID-19