Abstract
BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, and the vaccine remains the ultimate cornerstone to overcoming its long-term impact. Vaccine hesitancy might obstruct the effort to achieve herd immunity and eradicate the virus. We assessed Saudi Arabian individuals’ willingness, beliefs, and barriers regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and their adherence to preventive measures during and after the pandemic.MethodsA self-administered electronic validated questionnaire was distributed among the five major regions in Saudi Arabia between November and December 2020. The questionnaire addressed the sociodemographic data, beliefs, potential barriers, parents’ acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination for their children, and adherence to protective measures during and after the pandemic.ResultsOf 8,056 participants, 4,218 (52.4%) of a non-representative sample were willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Being a young adult, male, having less than a high school degree, being a smoker, having a chronic disease, and having a history of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake were positive predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Hesitant participants reported concerns about vaccine side effects and safety as the main barriers to accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Some refusers (26.1%) declared that they would reconsider vaccination only if the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine were reported by more studies.ConclusionsOur study revealed a promising willingness to accept the vaccine among the population, with positive beliefs and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. However, a considerable proportion of the population was reluctant to accept the vaccine. Thus, publicly providing information about vaccine safety and implementing health education programs is crucial for increasing the public’s confidence in the vaccine.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, and the vaccine remains the ultimate cornerstone to overcoming its long-term impact
More than half of the participants were women (54.2%), and most had at least a university degree (75.8%)
Half of the participants had received a seasonal influenza vaccine before (51.1%), and only a few reported that they had tested positive for COVID-19 (11.7%)
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, and the vaccine remains the ultimate cornerstone to overcoming its long-term impact. We assessed Saudi Arabian individuals’ willingness, beliefs, and barriers regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and their adherence to preventive measures during and after the pandemic. Despite using many drugs and protective measures to prevent and treat this disease, the global demand for a vaccine is inevitable [6]. Several international and a few local studies have examined the willingness to accept the vaccine and the beliefs and barriers associated with it [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. In Italy, a study reported a reduction in the willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine [9]. A global study surveyed the potential acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in 19 different countries. Differences in acceptance rates fluctuated from almost 90% (in China) to less than 55% (in Russia) [14]
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