Knowledge, Attitude and Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccination among Lecturers in Universities in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

This study examined knowledge, attitude and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among lecturers in universities in Akwa Ibom State. Descriptive survey design was used for this study. The design was aimed at collecting and analyzing data to describe the knowledge, attitude and acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among lecturers in Akwa Ibom State. The population stood at 4,346 lecturers from University of Uyo and Akwa Ibom State University located in Akwa Ibom State. But 217 lecturers making 5% of the total population of lecturers was used as the sample size for this study. Convenience sampling technique was adopted in sampling the respondents across the four tertiary institutions. A 20-item instrument titled "Knowledge, Attitude and Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccination Questionnaire" reliability index was 0.72 was used for data collection. Frequency and percentage were used in analyzing the collected data. Findings of the study revealed that participants had good knowledge about COVID-19 and its vaccine, but had negative attitude towards vaccination and low acceptability of vaccination. It was concluded that the participants in the study had satisfactory knowledge regarding COVID-19 and its vaccine but their negative attitude and low level of acceptability of the vaccine seemed to be influenced by insufficient clinical trials and fear of its side effects. Recommendations were made that the provision of sufficient information about the vaccines for COVID-19 is important as this would help to eliminate fear and doubts that people have against vaccines; regular and effective education is needed to improve public COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and reduce its hesitancy and appropriate COVID-19 vaccination strategies are necessary for wider coverage of the population for vaccine uptake campaigns.