tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cureus
. 2021 Oct 28;13(10):e19106.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.19106. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Perception, Willingness, Barriers, and Hesitancy Towards COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan: Comparison Between Healthcare Workers and General Population
Muhammad Kashif[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Iayla Fatima[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Abdul Moiz Ahmed[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shajeea Arshad Ali[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Roha Saeed Memon[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Muhammad Afzal[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Usama Saeed[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sana Gul[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Junaid Ahmad[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Farheen Malik[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mehreen Malik[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jawad Ahmed[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background Vaccine hesitancy has been a huge challenge in controlling preventable diseases. With the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, it is vital to know their acceptance rates among the masses. No comparative data is available on the current subject from Pakistan yet. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of a potential COVID-19 vaccine among the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs) of Pakistan, along with their perceptions and barriers to acceptance. Methods An online cross-sectional study was carried out in Pakistan from December 19, 2020, to January 10, 2021, using convenience sampling. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 31 items was distributed after informed consent. Inclusion criteria consisted of HCWs and non-HCWs (general population) aged 18 years and above, residing in Pakistan. All analyses were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Chi-square and T-test were used and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant for all cases. Results Of the 404 respondents (n=196 general population and n=208 HCWs), 73.5% were willing to get a proven, safe, and effective COVID-19 vaccine if it was free of cost. This was reduced to only 64.3% if the vaccine was not free and had to be paid for. A total of 168 (41.6%) participants agreed to get vaccinated immediately, while 149 (36.9%) participants concurred to get it on a delayed basis. Eighty-seven (21.5%) participants refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, amongst which a significant majority (p<0.001) of the participants were from the general population. Doctors or scientists/scholarly journals were found to be the most trusted source of information (67.6%; n=273), while fear of unknown side effects (45.5%; n=184) was found to be the most common barrier towards COVID-19 vaccination. More than half (53.5%) participants believed that the vaccine is safe, effective, and has minimal side effects, amongst which a significantly large fraction (p<0.001) belonged to the HCWs. Conclusion The acceptance rate of a safe, effective, proven, and free COVID-19 vaccine was 73.5%. The fear of unknown side effects was the most common barrier to COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The general population demonstrated less knowledge, more false perceptions, and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine. Adequate measures should be taken to educate the masses about the COVID-19 vaccine, and its safety, and further studies are required.
Keywords: barriers; covid-19 vaccine; hesistancy; pakistan; pandemic; perceptions; prevention; sars-cov-2; vaccine acceptance.
. 2021 Oct 28;13(10):e19106.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.19106. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Perception, Willingness, Barriers, and Hesitancy Towards COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan: Comparison Between Healthcare Workers and General Population
Muhammad Kashif[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Iayla Fatima[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Abdul Moiz Ahmed[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Shajeea Arshad Ali[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Roha Saeed Memon[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Muhammad Afzal[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Usama Saeed[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Sana Gul[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Junaid Ahmad[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Farheen Malik[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mehreen Malik[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jawad Ahmed[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34868757
- PMCID: PMC8627421
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.19106
Abstract
Background Vaccine hesitancy has been a huge challenge in controlling preventable diseases. With the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, it is vital to know their acceptance rates among the masses. No comparative data is available on the current subject from Pakistan yet. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of a potential COVID-19 vaccine among the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs) of Pakistan, along with their perceptions and barriers to acceptance. Methods An online cross-sectional study was carried out in Pakistan from December 19, 2020, to January 10, 2021, using convenience sampling. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 31 items was distributed after informed consent. Inclusion criteria consisted of HCWs and non-HCWs (general population) aged 18 years and above, residing in Pakistan. All analyses were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Chi-square and T-test were used and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant for all cases. Results Of the 404 respondents (n=196 general population and n=208 HCWs), 73.5% were willing to get a proven, safe, and effective COVID-19 vaccine if it was free of cost. This was reduced to only 64.3% if the vaccine was not free and had to be paid for. A total of 168 (41.6%) participants agreed to get vaccinated immediately, while 149 (36.9%) participants concurred to get it on a delayed basis. Eighty-seven (21.5%) participants refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, amongst which a significant majority (p<0.001) of the participants were from the general population. Doctors or scientists/scholarly journals were found to be the most trusted source of information (67.6%; n=273), while fear of unknown side effects (45.5%; n=184) was found to be the most common barrier towards COVID-19 vaccination. More than half (53.5%) participants believed that the vaccine is safe, effective, and has minimal side effects, amongst which a significantly large fraction (p<0.001) belonged to the HCWs. Conclusion The acceptance rate of a safe, effective, proven, and free COVID-19 vaccine was 73.5%. The fear of unknown side effects was the most common barrier to COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The general population demonstrated less knowledge, more false perceptions, and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine. Adequate measures should be taken to educate the masses about the COVID-19 vaccine, and its safety, and further studies are required.
Keywords: barriers; covid-19 vaccine; hesistancy; pakistan; pandemic; perceptions; prevention; sars-cov-2; vaccine acceptance.