Original Article REASONS OF REFUSING COVID-19 VACCINATION AMONG ADULT POPULATION OF A METROPOLITAN CITY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Keywords:
COVID-19, Immunization, vaccine hesitancy, Misconception, fear, cross-sectional studyAbstract
Background: Despite widespread mass communication strategy, a considerable proportion of the adult population showed hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccination. Few studies have addressed the issue of COVID-19 vaccine refusal among adults. The objective of this study was to describe reasons for refusing COVID-19 vaccination among adults in a metropolitan city in Pakistan.
Material and Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was undertaken in urban and semi-urban areas of Lahore from January through June 2022. Four hundred and thirteen unvaccinated individuals aged 18 years and above were randomly selected. These individuals completed in-person interviews in relation to questions on four refusal themes including fear of complications, misconceptions, peer and family influences, and vaccine administration issues. Pearson’s Chi-squared test was used to examine the difference in proportions using SPSS version 25.
Results: Of 413 participants, 276 (66.8%) were males and 137 (33.2%) were Females. About 76% of participants were aged between 20-50 years, belonging to lower socio-economic strata with one-third of them having completed primary school only. Despite a higher level of awareness (83%) about COVID-19 vaccines, more than 50% of females showed concern about fear of long-term health effects, whereas according to males, non-immunization was due to family and peer influences (53%). More than half of the participants expressed doubt about predictive protection against COVID. We did not find any statistical association between fear of side effects, misconceptions, peer pressure, and vaccination availability themes with age, gender, education, and occupation (p>0.05).
Conclusion: There are still gaps in accessibility, coverage, and acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine and in addressing the concerns among men and women of low socio-economic population strata in Lahore about its effectiveness, long-term effects, and administration. Mass media and social media communication strategies addressing the identified factors may improve effective COVID-19 immunization campaigns.
Key words: COVID-19, Immunization, vaccine hesitancy, Misconception, fear, cross-sectional study
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