Open AccessAcceptance, Concerns, and Obstacles related to COVID-19 Vaccination among the General Society in Saudi Arabia
Author(s) -
Wejdan Rahali,
Murouj Almaghrabi,
Ahad Babkier,
Sadeem Bukhari,
Mokhtar Shatla
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.54293/smhj.v1i1.18
Subject(s) - vaccination , medicine , covid-19 , government (linguistics) , residence , nationality , cross sectional study , affect (linguistics) , population , environmental health , family medicine , demography , psychology , immunology , disease , geography , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , communication , pathology , immigration , sociology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background: The strongest COVID-19 control solution is an effective vaccine. Several factors affect COVID-19 vaccine acceptance by the general population. Public health officials and practitioners must recognize all obstacles that may discourage people from obtaining COVID-19 vaccines. The present study aimed to measure the extent of community acceptance of taking the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia, as well as to assess the limitations, concerns, and obstacles that is related to the vaccine.Methods: A cross-sectional study of a sample consisting of 1400 participants living in Saudi Arabia assessed socio-demographic characteristics, general characteristics of the vaccinated participants, and participants’ acceptance, concerns, and obstacles related to COVID-19 vaccination.Results: Most participants were females (63.1%) and from the western region of Saudi Arabia (81.2%). Nearly equal number was reported between vaccinated and non-vaccinated participants with COVID-19 vaccination (45% and 55% respectively). Exact of 324 participants reported obstacles that prevent them from getting the vaccine, in which the highly reported item was lack of information about the vaccine (21.6%). A total number of 1,796 participants reported few concerns, in which the most common item was health concern (43.4%), followed by misleading ideas and beliefs (35.4%). A recorded statistical significance p-value was determined between the participants who received COVID-19 vaccination and the gender, nationality, place of residence, and working in government sector (P=0.002, 0.002, 0.001, and 0.011, respectively).Conclusions: Awareness of COVID-19 vaccination is still lacking. Thus, a targeted health educational programs are needed to increase the individuals convince and reduce the fears about the vaccination.