Abstract
BackgroundThe Arab region is highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local governments have already started to act against the disease. However, only a few countries provided COVID-19 vaccination. Compliance with vaccination is a major topic affecting proper coverage. Thus, we aim to explore vaccine acceptance among Arab populations, and compare it with the global numbers.MethodsAn internet-based survey using social media platforms was conducted, targeting adults who were able to read and understand Arabic, had access to the internet, and from all 22 Arab league countries. Due to the response rate variation between participants, the countries were grouped into four categories based on their income: Low income, Lower-middle income, Upper-middle income, and High-income economies. Data about demographics, previous COVID-19 infection, and vaccine acceptance tendency were collected and analyzed using Chi-squared (χ2) test and Logistic regression.ResultsA total of 870 participants completed the survey. 59.3% of the participants were male, 53.3% were between 25 and 44 years, and 69.9% were Arabs who live inside of their home country. The COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 62.4%. A significant higher tendency toward vaccination was identified in males (65.4%, P = 0.04) and people living outside their home countries (67.9%, P = 0.02). However, age group, level of education, and previous COVID-19 infection were all factors with insignificant effect. Citizens of High-income countries were more likely to accept the vaccine (70.2%).ConclusionsLess than two-thirds of Arabs are compliant with COVID-19 vaccination. This proportion is relatively lower than the global rate. It is important to develop strategies to promote vaccine acceptance and reach the ideal coverage needed to achieve efficient immunization.
Highlights
The Arab region is highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
Many Arab countries have started vaccinating against COVID-19, including United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Jordan [10,11,12,13,14]
Whereas the second section comprised questions related to COVID19, such as previous exposure, family member death due to SARS-CoV-2, willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine if available for free, and hesitancy related to the source of the vaccine
Summary
The Arab region is highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a few countries provided COVID-19 vaccination. Most governments responded to the pandemic and implemented measures of protection and early warning, healthcare systems in some countries lack the proper up to date training to detect and manage the overwhelming burden of the disease [5]. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) estimated that a loss of $42 billion could affect the Arab region due to the COVID-19, with 1.7 million job losses [5]. Many Arab countries have started vaccinating against COVID-19, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Jordan [10,11,12,13,14]. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an emergency use for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and added it to the WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL) [15]
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