Assessment of the knowledge, preferences and concern regarding the prospective COVID- 19 vaccine among adults residing in New Delhi, India-A cross sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding the perception and concerns of people about COVID-19 vaccine in developing and populous country like India will help in understanding demand for the vaccine and further tailoring out public health information and education activities before the launch of the vaccine. The study was carried out to assess the present state of knowledge people have about the probable vaccine for COVID-19, to know the preferences of respondents about this vaccine and to learn the expectations and apprehensions of people about features of this prospective COVID-19 vaccine residing in the capital city of India.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted amongst the residents of Delhi, India from July-October 2020. Both offline and online interview method was used to collect date from 513 participants representing various occupational strata. Data was collected on socio demographic variable, vaccine acceptance and concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccine.ResultsAmong the study population 79.5% said they will take the vaccine while 8.8% said they were not going to take the vaccine and remaining 11.7% had not yet decided about it. Most of them(78.8%),believed that vaccine would be available to public next year but at the same time half(50.1%) of them believe that it may not be in sufficient amount for everyone to get. More than 50% were willing to pay for the vaccine and 72% felt vaccine should first be given to health workers and high risk group.ConclusionThe following study has helped to understand the percentage of people who are hesitant to take the vaccine and also the concerns regarding the vaccine. Also since half of the population is willing to pay for the vaccine, a strategical approach considering the various economical classes of people could be applied in a developing country like India.

COVID-19 Vaccine Demand and Financial Incentives

“…The study's results also found evidence that COVID-19 vaccine efficacy affected individuals' demand for the vaccine, including both the overall willingness to get vaccinated and the WTP for the vaccine. Several previous studies have found that COVID-19 vaccine attributes affect the demand for the vaccine [26,[42][43][44][45][46][47]. A substantial and significant effect of vaccine efficacy was found in Australia, where consumers were found to be willing to pay US$23.92 for a 1% increase in vaccine efficacy; this implies a US$360 increase in WTP when comparing, for example, COVID-19 vaccines with 84% and 99% efficacy levels (minimum and maximum levels used in that study).…”

Demographic Factors Associated with Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination: An Online Survey-Based Study from Hyderabad Sindh

“…The acceptability ratio determined in this research is very low than the previous studies done in other countries such as in China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh. The studies reported about willingness of 83.8% 14 , 79.5% 15 and 64.7% 16 in China, India and Saudi Arabia, respectively. The low level of acceptance of vaccine among participants of this study could be linked with the literacy rate, less access to reliable information and socioeconomic dynamics.…”

“COVID 19- Two Waves & More” What Have We Learnt?

“…In first phase, providing vaccine to healthcare workers and front-line workers including police, sanitary workers, paramilitary forces [25] . Though initially there was vaccine hesitancy particularly in rural and tribal parts of India, but constant government and public awareness campaigns has reduced the hesitancy and studies published from Delhi showed vaccination acceptance of 79.5% and another study published from West Bengal showed vaccination acceptance of 77.27% [26,27] . India registered new world record of administering more than 1 crore doses of vaccine in a single day on 27 th august 2021 [28] .…”