Abstract
COVID-19 has posed massive challenges related to health, economy, and the social fabric of the entire human population. To curb the spread of the virus, the Government of Pakistan initiated a vaccination campaign against COVID-19. The objective of this research was to assess the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance or hesitancy. The data were collected telephonically using a cross-sectional survey design through a close-ended structured questionnaire from a sample of 1325 vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals with a response rate of 38%. SPSS v. 26 was used to analyze the data. The study revealed that 73% of the respondents were male, half in the 40–49 age group, 78% living in urban areas, and 45% had a monthly income between 20,001–50,000 Pakistani rupees. People felt reluctant to get vaccinated because of myths and misinformation related to it. The socio-demographic factors including male, age 60–69, middle or higher level of education, marital status, currently employed, from middle socio-economic status, living in urban areas, high access to mass media, history of influenza vaccination, physical activity, and perceived good health status were significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Concerted efforts are needed to achieve vaccine targets for the broader population through understanding and identifying barriers to vaccination.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilCOVID-19 was declared a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO) inMarch 2020, and has posed massive challenges related to health, economy, and the social fabric of the entire human population [1]
The objectives of this research were to find out the attitude of people towards COVID-19 vaccination and to assess the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance or hesitancy in the Punjab province, which houses half of Pakistan’s population
The study found that a majority of the respondents were male (73%), in the age group of 40–49 (49%), residing in urban areas (78%), and Muslim in faith (95%) with a monthly income between 20,001–50,000 Pakistani rupees (PKR) (45%)
Summary
COVID-19 was declared a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in. March 2020, and has posed massive challenges related to health, economy, and the social fabric of the entire human population [1]. To curb the spread of the virus, the Government of Pakistan, similar to other countries, issued several public health guidelines, preventative measures, and made widely available a solution in the form of vaccination. In Pakistan, with more than 1.15 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, around twenty-five thousand deaths as of 30 August 2021 [2], and the presence of the concern of variants in the ongoing wave of COVID-19, it is necessary to enhance vaccine coverage in the country in order to acquire herd immunity.
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