Perception of COVID-19 vaccine among people living with HIV in Ogun-state, Nigeria; a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the perception and vaccine-related concerns of People Living with HIV towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive research design was adopted. A computer-generated randomization scheme was used to select 236 participants who attended HIV support group meetings. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Frequency and percentages were adopted to categorize the data collected. Results: The study revealed that the majority of the respondents believe that getting the COVID-19 vaccine will protect themselves, their families, or their patients (87.3%) and that it will help prevent the transmission of the disease (83.9%). There is also a large percentage of respondents who believe that the vaccine is effective (77.1%) and safe (82.6%) and that it confers long-term immunity (75.4%). These results suggest that the majority of respondents have a good perception towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination of PLWHV is important because of their already immunocompromised state. Since perception and misconceptions are known to affect vaccine coverage, it is therefore recommended that vaccine education and more awareness to clarify misconceptions and misinformation as regards vaccine development be addressed.