Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has wrought havoc upon healthcare and economic systems worldwide. COVID-19 vaccines considered a beacon of hope for normal life to return. We wished to understand the willingness of people in Kuwait to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Methods An online, exploratory, cross-sectional study was conducted on 16–18 January 2021 using a validated structured questionnaire to collect data from adults aged 18 years or older living in Kuwait by applying a “snowball sampling” method. Results A total of 7274 people received an online link of the survey on their smartphone or computer, and 6943 people enrolled in this study (95.4%). Kuwaiti nationals represented 79.7% of the study cohort, 54.8% were aged ≥40 years, and 66.7% were females. Hesitancy against a COVID-19 vaccine was remarkably high (74.3%), with 50.8% not planning to take it and 23.5% not sure about taking it. The overall mean perception score was 3.4 ± 2.8, with 66.8% having a negative attitude towards a COVID-19 vaccine. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the factors affecting the decision to take a COVID-19 vaccine was done. The decision to take a COVID-19 vaccine was significantly positively associated with younger age (OR = 1.219), being male (2.169), having a higher education level (1.362), vaccinated against seasonal influenza previously (2.706), being a non-Kuwaiti (1.329), being a healthcare worker (1.366), and working in the private sector (1.228). Options to encourage future COVID-19 vaccination were more studies showing the vaccine to be safe and efficacious (68.6%), physician recommendation (41.8%), mandatory travel requirements (39.8%), if a family or friend vaccinated (34.9%) and compulsory by government (33.1%) or for employment (29.8%). Conclusion Our data suggest that considerable vaccine hesitancy persists despite the widespread availability of highly efficacious and safe COVID-19 vaccines.

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Background: Breastfeeding is proposed to play a role in reducing the risk of obesity throughout life. Kuwait has an extremely high prevalence of childhood obesity (45% of adolescents are overweight/obese) and extremely low breastfeeding indicators, particularly exclusive breastfeeding. In fact, little is known about the association between breastfeeding and obesity from Kuwait and the broader Middle East. Aims: To estimate the prevalence of overweight/obesity in female adolescents in Kuwait and assess its association with breastfeeding during infancy. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included 775 girls randomly selected from public and private high schools in Kuwait. The primary exposure was breastfeeding in the first four months of life, and the outcome was overweight/obesity during adolescence. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between breastfeeding and overweight/obesity while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Approximately 45% of adolescent girls were either overweight/obese. We found no significant association between breastfeeding (exclusive/mixed breastfeeding and formula feeding/no breastfeeding) and overweight/obesity neither in univariable analysis (Crude Prevalence Ratio: 1.14, 95%CI [0.92–1.36] & Crude Prevalence Ratio: 1.29, 95%CI [0.86–1.68]; p = 0.293) for mixed feeding and no breastfeeding respectively, nor in multivariable analysis (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio: 1.14, 95%CI [0.85–1.42] & Adjusted Prevalence Ratio: 1.20, 95%CI [0.68–1.68]; p = 0.589) for mixed feeding and no breastfeeding respectively. Conclusion: Breastfeeding during infancy was not significantly associated with overweight/obesity during adolescence. However, breastfeeding should be encouraged for its indisputable benefits for infants and their mothers alike. Further prospective studies are needed to assess the association.