Threat of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Pakistan: The Need for Measures to Neutralize Misleading Narratives

Khan, Yusra Habib; Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain; Alotaibi, Nasser Hadal; Alzarea, Abdulaziz Ibrahim; Alanazi, Abdullah Salah; Tanveer, Nida; Hashmi, Furqan Khurshid

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.20-0654

Cited by 258 publications

(295 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic represents a state of fear, anxiety and uncertainty, which is considered a suitable environment for conspiracies to disseminate in [ 37 , 41 , 42 , 45 , 46 ]. Conspiracy beliefs have infiltrated many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the novel virus’ origin and the fallacies about the prospective vaccines [ 46 , 47 ]. Several clinical trials assessing the possibility of achieving efficacious and safe vaccines for COVID-19 have shown promising results [ 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Rates of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Association with Conspiracy Beliefs: A Study in Jordan and Kuwait among Other Arab Countries

et al. 2021

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Vaccination could be an effective strategy for slowing the spread of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Vaccine hesitancy could pose a serious problem for COVID-19 prevention, due to the spread of misinformation surrounding the ongoing pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes towards the prospective COVID-19 vaccines among the general public in Jordan, Kuwait and other Arab countries. We also aimed to assess the association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and conspiracy beliefs. This study used an online survey distributed in December 2020, with items assessing conspiracies regarding COVID-19’s origin and vaccination. Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines were assessed using the Vaccine Conspiracy Belief Scale (VCBS), with higher scores indicating a greater belief in vaccine conspiracy. A total of 3414 respondents completed the survey, the majority being residents of Jordan (n = 2173, 63.6%), Kuwait (n = 771, 22.6%) and Saudi Arabia (n = 154, 4.5%). The acceptance rates for COVID-19 and influenza vaccines were 29.4% and 30.9%, respectively. Males, respondents with higher educational levels and those with histories of chronic disease had higher rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Beliefs that COVID-19 vaccines are intended to inject microchips into recipients and that the vaccines are related to infertility were found in 27.7% and 23.4% of respondents, respectively. Higher VCBS scores were found among females, respondents with lower educational levels and respondents relying on social media platforms as the main source of information. The high rates of vaccine hesitancy in Jordan and Kuwait, among other Arab countries, are alarming. They could hinder the proper control of COVID-19 in the region. The harmful effect of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy beliefs was manifested in vaccine hesitancy. This may represent a massive obstacle to the successful control of the pandemic. A reliance on social media as the main source of information about COVID-19 vaccines was associated with vaccine hesitancy. This should alert governments, policy makers and the general public to the importance of vigilant fact checking.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Rates of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Association with Conspiracy Beliefs: A Study in Jordan and Kuwait among Other Arab Countries

et al. 2021

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“…Another barrier to COVID-19 vaccination was the COVID-19 conspiracy theory, which has spread very rapidly around the world [9,27,28] via social media platforms, precisely where the study participants were recruited. This scenario may indicate that future studies should use a different sampling population via purposive sampling by rst testing the susceptibility potential participants to believe in conspiracy theories.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beliefs and Barriers Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia

Magadmi

Kamel

2020

Preprint

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Background: Developing a vaccine against COVID-19 is considered a key strategy to end the pandemic. However, public acceptance is reliant on beliefs and perception toward the vaccine. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the beliefs and barriers associated with COVID-19 vaccination among the Saudi population. Methods: An online self-administered questionnaire was distributed across the main regions of Saudi Arabia on May 2020. The questionnaire addressed the socio-demographic variables, beliefs toward COVID-19 vaccination, and potential barriers that may prevent participants from being vaccinated. The association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and sociodemographic variables were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predicting variables of vaccine acceptance.Results: Out of 3,101 participants, 44.7% are accepting of COVID-19 vaccination if available, whereas 55.3% admitted hesitancy. Younger, male, with secondary education, history of taking previous seasonal influenza vaccine, and positive belief toward COVID-19 vaccination are more likely to accept. The study found that concerns about side effects were the key barrier for vaccine acceptance. Furthermore, the majority of refusers will accept the vaccine if additional studies confirmed safety and effectiveness. Conclusion: Results can be utilized in planning vaccination campaigns while waiting for vaccine development.

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“…Immediately after declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic, numerous conspiracy theories were shared through social media [ 8 - 10 ]. In Pakistan, for example, two well-known political figures expressed anti–COVID-19 vaccine sentiments to the local community and further encouraged vaccine hesitancy [ 11 ]. Neil et al [ 12 ] proposed a heuristic map of COVID-19 vaccines’ online contentions, which revealed a multisided landscape of unprecedented intricacies about vaccines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unfolding the Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in China

Yin¹,

Wu²,

Xia³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

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Background China is at the forefront of global efforts to develop COVID-19 vaccines and has five fast-tracked candidates at the final-stage, large-scale human clinical trials testing phase. Vaccine-promoting policymaking for public engagement is a prerequisite for social mobilization. However, making an informed and judicious choice is a dilemma for the Chinese government in the vaccine promotion context. Objective In this study, public opinions in China were analyzed via dialogues on Chinese social media, based on which Chinese netizens’ views on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination were investigated. We also aimed to develop strategies for promoting vaccination programs in China based on an in-depth understanding of the challenges in risk communication and social mobilization. Methods We proposed a novel behavioral dynamics model, SRS/I (susceptible-reading-susceptible/immune), to analyze opinion transmission paradigms on Chinese social media. Coupled with a meta-analysis and natural language processing techniques, the emotion polarity of individual opinions was examined in their given context. Results We collected more than 1.75 million Weibo messages about COVID-19 vaccines from January to October 2020. According to the public opinion reproduction ratio (R0), the dynamic propagation of those messages can be classified into three periods: the ferment period (R01=1.1360), the revolution period (R02=2.8278), and the transmission period (R03=3.0729). Topics on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in China include price and side effects. From September to October, Weibo users claimed that the vaccine was overpriced, making up 18.3% (n=899) of messages; 38.1% (n=81,909) of relevant topics on Weibo received likes. On the contrary, the number of messages that considered the vaccine to be reasonably priced was twice as high but received fewer likes, accounting for 25.0% (n=53,693). In addition, we obtained 441 (47.7%) positive and 295 (31.9%) negative Weibo messages about side effects. Interestingly, inactivated vaccines instigated more heated discussions than any other vaccine type. The discussions, forwards, comments, and likes associated with topics related to inactivated vaccines accounted for 53% (n=588), 42% (n=3072), 56% (n=3671), and 49% (n=17,940), respectively, of the total activity associated with the five types of vaccines in China. Conclusions Most Chinese netizens believe that the vaccine is less expensive than previously thought, while some claim they cannot afford it for their entire family. The findings demonstrate that Chinese individuals are inclined to be positive about side effects over time and are proud of China’s involvement with vaccine development. Nevertheless, they have a collective misunderstanding about inactivated vaccines, insisting that inactivated vaccines are safer than other vaccines. Reflecting on netizens’ collective responses, the unfolding determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance provide illuminating benchmarks for vaccine-promoting policies.

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Threat of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Pakistan: The Need for Measures to Neutralize Misleading Narratives

Cited by 258 publications

References 5 publications

High Rates of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Association with Conspiracy Beliefs: A Study in Jordan and Kuwait among Other Arab Countries

High Rates of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Association with Conspiracy Beliefs: A Study in Jordan and Kuwait among Other Arab Countries

Beliefs and Barriers Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia

Unfolding the Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in China

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