Willingness to take COVID-19 vaccination in low-income countries: Evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract

Background In low-income countries, vaccination campaigns are lagging, and evidence on vaccine acceptance, a crucial public health planning input, remains scant. This is the first study that reports willingness to take COVID-19 vaccines and its socio-demographic correlates in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country. Methods The analysis is based on a nationally representative survey data of 2,317 households conducted in the informal economy in November 2020. It employs two logistic regression models where the two outcome variables are (i) a household head’s willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine or not, and (ii) if yes if they would also hypothetically pay (an unspecified amount) for it or not. Predictors include age, gender, education, marital status, income category, health insurance coverage, sickness due to COVID-19, chronic illness, trust in government, prior participation in voluntary activities, urban residence. Results Willingness to take the vaccine was high (88%) and significantly associated with COVID-19 cases in the family, trust in government and pro-social behavior. All other predictors such as gender, education, income, health insurance, chronic illness, urban residence did not significantly predict vaccine willingness at the 5% level. Among those willing to take the vaccine, 33% also answered that they would hypothetically pay (an unspecified amount) for it, an answer that is significantly associated with trust in government, health insurance coverage and income. Conclusion The results highlight both opportunities and challenges. There is little evidence of vaccine hesitancy in Ethiopia among household heads operating in the informal economy. The role played by trust in government and pro-social behavior in motivating this outcome suggests that policy makers need to consider these factors in the planning of COVID-19 vaccine campaigns in order to foster vaccine uptake. At the same time, as the willingness to hypothetically pay for a COVID-19 vaccine seems to be small, fairly-priced vaccines along with financial support are also needed to ensure further uptake of COVID-19 vaccines.

Myth and Misinformation on COVID-19 Vaccine: The Possible Impact on Vaccination Refusal Among People of Northeast Ethiopia: A Community-Based Research

“…Respondents aged greater than 49 [AOR = 2.1 at 95% CI: (1.8, 4.9)] were accepted COVID-19 vaccine two times than the younger respondents (respondents age less than 30 years). Even though this finding was found aligned with studies conducted in Irish 46 and Western India among working-age populations, 34 and it is diametrically opposite with the studies conducted in Ethiopia using online survey 13 and a cross-sectional study conducted in Pakistan. 47 The possible reason for this could be due to young people’s exposure to different COVID-19 related information that makes them uncertain about the vaccine and they tend to think they are invincible.…”

“…Data were gathered by face-to-face interviews with the use of a standardized questionnaire developed from literature. 5 , 13 , 14 , 22 , 28 , 40 , 42 , 43 The dependent variable was refusal to undergo COVID-19 immunization, while the independent variables were socio-demographic characteristics, technical factors like eHealth literacy, source of COVID-19 information, frequency of internet use and computer literacy.…”

Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccination Among Adult Diabetes Patients in Woldia Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, North Ethiopia; A Cross-Sectional Study

“…This was in-line with findings from Italy 20 and Wolaita, Ethiopia. 21 While it was higher than reports from Saudi Arabia, 22 china, 23,24 Sub-Saharan Africa 25 and Uganda. 26 On the other hand, the magnitude was lower than from findings among the general population in Ethiopia.…”

COVID-19 vaccine express strategy in Malawi: An effort to reach the un-reach

“…Similarly, in Malawi, affordability is the main issue for vaccine hesitancy as 50.7 percent of the population live below the poverty line, and 25 percent live in extreme poverty. In Ethiopia, concern for vaccine safety was the top reason for vaccine hesitancy [11] . However, in African countries (like Malawi), the fragmented healthcare system was the main reason hindering the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine [12] .…”