Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 5.2 million deaths. Vaccine hesitancy remains a public health challenge, especially in Eastern Europe. Our study used a sample of essential workers living in the Republic of North Macedonia to: (1) Describe rates of vaccine hesitancy and risk perception of COVID-19; (2) Explore predictors of vaccine hesitancy; and (3) Describe the informational needs of hesitant and non-hesitant workers. A phone survey was administered in North Macedonia from 4–16 May 2021. Logistic regression explored associations of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with sociodemographic characteristics, non-COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, previous diagnosis of COVID-19, and individual risk perception of contracting COVID-19. Chi-squared analyses compared differences in informational needs by hesitancy status. Of 1003 individuals, 44% were very likely to get the vaccine, and 56% reported some level of hesitancy. Older age, Albanian ethnicity, increased education, previous COVID-19 diagnosis, acceptance of other vaccines, and increased risk perception of COVID-19 infection were negatively associated with vaccine hesitancy. Results indicated significant differences in top informational needs by hesitancy status. The top informational needs of the hesitant were the freedom to choose to be vaccinated without consequences (57% vs. 42%, p < 0.01) and that all main international agencies recommended the vaccine (35% vs. 24%, p < 0.01).
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilCOVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis that has presented unique public health and healthcare challenges to the world
We conducted a survey of essential workers in North Macedonia to assess their informational needs regarding the COVID-19 vaccine
In terms of representation of ethnic groups, most respondents were Macedonian (77%), followed by Albanian (21%), which is consistent with the distribution of ethnicity in North Macedonia
Summary
COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis that has presented unique public health and healthcare challenges to the world. As of 5 December 2021, over 5.2 million people across the globe have died from COVID-19 complications [1]. In December 2020, biotech companies Pfizer and Moderna released vaccines under emergency use authorization, which governments across the globe prioritized for the elderly, the vulnerable, and essential workers [2,3]. The value of vaccine protection extends only as far as the public’s willingness to get vaccinated. As of January 2022, North Macedonia has reported over 8700 deaths attributed to COVID-19 and over 287,000 cases in a population of approximately 2 million people [1]. Despite the plethora of research demonstrating the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing
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