Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine is available across various countries worldwide, with public-private partnerships ensuring all individuals are vaccinated through a phased approach. Irrespective of the geographical spread, several myths pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccine have stemmed, ultimately limiting the national administration of vaccines and rollouts. This study assessed the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among the general public in Pakistan. MethodsA pre-validated questionnaire was administered from January 2021 to February 2021 to assess the public attitude and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. Logistic regression analyses were run to identify factors associated with the acceptance among the population. ResultsA total of 936 responses were elicited, where 15% perceived their risk of being infected at 20-30% with an overall 70% agreeing to be vaccinated if recommended. Multivariate analysis identified higher acceptance in the male gender, healthcare workers, and students. Of all, 66% respondents chose healthcare workers and public officials, whereas 15.6% chose scientific literature, and 12.9% chose social media as the most reliable source of COVID-19 information. ConclusionGiven the relatively greater trust in healthcare providers for information regarding COVID-19, healthcare workers ought to be on the frontline for vaccine campaigns and public outreach efforts, with governmental efforts in addition to the promotion of scientific materials for population-level understanding.

Perception, Willingness, Barriers, and Hesistancy Towards COVID-19 Vaccine in Pakistan: Comparison Between Healthcare Workers and General Population

“…Another study approximates vaccine acceptance rate to be 70% in the population of Pakistan [29]. This study also reports a quite similar finding of HCWs/doctors being the most reliable source of information in view of the respondents.…”

Perceptions Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination Among a Representative Pakistani Population Coming to Tertiary Care Cardiac Hospital

“…Even global data favors higher education for vaccination acceptance [9,[21][22][23]. Similarly, as seen around the world and in a study from Pakistan, employed participants and especially those related to medical fields were found to be more welcoming to COVID-19 vaccination than their unemployed counterparts [8,17]. In our setup, multiple factors are possibly contributing to it including differences in knowledge, financial status and social communication, and higher frequency of females in the unemployed group.…”

“…Unfortunately, as proven by the past experience of the polio vaccine, Pakistan is at high risk of COVID-19 vaccine resistance [7]. There are studies for COVID vaccination hesitancy from around the world and a couple of studies from Pakistan [6][7][8][9][10][11]17,18]. But most of them are likely biased by the comparatively literate responder to their online surveys, the method used in most such studies.…”

Acceptance of COVID-19 Booster in the adult population of Pakistan: A cross sectional study

“…A recent cross-sectional study by Aga Khan University on vaccination acceptance rates showed 66.8% positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination (11). It identi ed factors such as information from media sources, people's trust in the government and history of having contracted the virus (12).…”