Abstract
Vaccination is a major strategy to prevent the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, information about factors associated with men and women intention to be vaccinated are scarce. To determine COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and identify factors associated vaccine hesitancy according to sex, we performed a cross-sectional population-based random survey in Salvador, Brazil between Nov/2020-Jan/2021. Participants were interviewed to obtain data on intention to receive and pay for a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as on demographics, comorbidities, influenza vaccination history, previous diagnosis of COVID-19, and exposures and perception of COVID-19 risk. Among 2,521 participants, 2,053 (81.4%) reported willingness to use a COVID-19 vaccine and 468 (18.6%) hesitated to take it. Among those intending to get vaccinated, 1,400 (68.2%) would pay for the vaccine if necessary. Sex-stratified multivariable analysis found that men who were working and who had comorbidities were less likely to hesitate about using the vaccine. Among women, higher educational level and high perception of COVID-19 risk were associated with less vaccine hesitancy. In both groups, reporting influenza vaccination in 2020 reduced the chance of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. COVID-19 vaccine campaigns targeting to reduce vaccine hesitancy are urgently needed. These campaigns should consider gender differences in order to be successful.
Highlights
Given the continued transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) worldwide and the lack of effective pharmacological measures against virus infection and disease, vaccination became a major strategy to prevent and control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Because we found sex as a factor associated with vaccine hesitance, we repeated these analyses for male and female participants and used their results to choose variables to include in multivariable binomial logistic regression analyses, stratified by sex, to determine factors independently associated with vaccine hesitancy among men and among women
We found a relatively low rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy following the first COVID-19 epidemic peak and before the second wave peak in a large Brazilian city
Summary
Given the continued transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) worldwide and the lack of effective pharmacological measures against virus infection and disease, vaccination became a major strategy to prevent and control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In December 2020, a second wave of COVID-19 initiated in the north state of Amazonas, in association with the emergence of the Gamma (P1) variant of SARS CoV-2 [3] It spread across the country in the following months, attracting massive attention from researchers and the media due to the large number of cases and deaths in a population intensely exposed to SARS-CoV-2 during 2020 [4]. We present population-based results on the intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and identify factors associated with vaccine hesitancy according to sex in Salvador, the fourth largest city in Brazil. These were secondary aims of a citywide survey that had as its primary goal to estimate the prevalence of antibodies against COVID-19, which is not presented in this article
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
