Abstract
Introduction and objectives The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a worldwide phenomenon. This study conducted a chronological survey of crisis awareness regarding COVID-19 within different age groups. Methods An internet-based survey was performed on healthy Japanese adults to investigate the value of a hypothetical prophylactic vaccine and therapeutic drug for COVID-19 in each age group. In total, 12 groups comprising males and females in six different age groups, leading to a total of 1,200 individuals, were surveyed on a weekly basis. The survey was conducted on Friday of each week commencing from February 14, 2020, to April 10, 2020. At certain times or events such as when the government released major announcements or when there was a rapid increase in the number of infected individuals, a similar survey was conducted on an additional 1,200 individuals per week. Results A total of 12 surveys, including weekly surveys spanning over nine weeks, were conducted; a total of 19,113 samples from 12,254 individuals were obtained. The mean price for a hypothetical prophylactic vaccine was 2876.3 JPY (26.9 USD) at the first survey and was significantly increased to 3357.4 JPY (31.4 USD) for the most recent survey (p<0.0001). The percentage of healthy individuals who were unwilling to pay for a hypothetical therapeutic drug at the onset of COVID-19 symptoms was higher in the young age group than in the elderly groups at all phases, indicating a low level of crisis awareness among some young individuals. On the other hand, the percentage of those willing to pay for more than the standard prophylaxis influenza vaccine remained almost the same in all age groups, and it also increased when COVID-19 infection was widespread. In the sub-analysis, females who have children and married individuals tended to answer higher costs for prevention. Conclusions Changes in crisis awareness in all age groups were found to be associated with an increasing familiarity along with an increase in the number of locally infected individuals. Though the percentage of those who will not pay was higher in the young age group than in the elderly age group, the percentage of those who will pay more than the standard costs of influenza vaccine or treatment drugs was the same between each aging group.