ACCEPTANCE TOWARDS COVID-19 VACCINE AMONG ADULTS AGED 18 YEARS AND ABOVE IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

The COVID-19 immunisation programme may be a potential strategy for containing the pandemic, but its effectiveness depends on the community's acceptance of the vaccine. Decisions regarding vaccine acceptance may be impacted by a variety of circumstances, and individuals may weigh these aspects differently. The objective of this study was to assess the acceptance towards the covid-19 vaccine among Malaysian adults. Adult Malaysians aged 18 and over were enrolled in a cross-sectional online survey. Google Form was used to deliver an online survey that was used to collect data. The bulk of the 403 responders (90.1%) expressed high acceptance levels for the COVID-19 vaccination. Meanwhile the majority showed low hesitance levels towards covid-19 vaccine with 94.8%. The sociodemographic factors have a correlation with vaccine reluctance. The sociodemographic factors of age (p=0.001), education (p=0.001), occupation (p=0.001), and marital status (p=0.032) all significantly correlated with vaccine hesitation. Non-significant factors include gender (p- 0.097) and monthly income (p-0.210). We need to understand the hesitation and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine clearly in order to create evidence-based interventions because there are numerous COVID-19 vaccines being developed and significant vaccination rates are required to attain herd immunity.