Background Determinants of vaccine acceptance are multifactorial, complex, and in most cases, context-dependent. We determined the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination intention (VI) and fear of its adverse effects (FAE) as well as their associated factors in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Methods We conducted a secondary cross-sectional analysis of a database collected by the University of Maryland and Facebook. We included participants aged 18 and over from LAC surveyed, January 15 to February 1, 2021. We evaluated VI, FAE, sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 symptomatology, compliance with community mitigation strategies, food and economic insecurity, mental health evaluation and the influence in VI when recommended by different stakeholders. We calculated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios with their 95%CIs. Results We analyzed 472,521 responses by Latin American adults, finding a VI and FAE prevalence of 80.0% and 81.2%, respectively. We found that female and non-binary genders were associated with a lower probability of VI and a higher probability of FAE. Besides, living in a town, village or rural area and economic insecurity was associated with a higher FAE probability. The fears of becoming seriously ill, a family member becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 and having depressive symptoms were associated with a higher probability of VI and FAE. Conclusion Eight out of 10 adults in LAC have VI and FAE. The factors identified are useful for the development of communication strategies to reduce FAE frequency. It is necessary to guarantee mass vaccination and support the return of economic activities.

We aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with parents’ non-intention to vaccinate their children and adolescents against COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). We performed a secondary analysis using a database generated by the University of Maryland and Facebook (Facebook, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA). We included adult (18 and over) Facebook users residing in LAC who responded to the survey between 20 May 2021 and 14 July 2021. We included sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, mental health, economic and food insecurity, compliance with mitigation strategies against COVID-19, and practices related to vaccination against this disease. We estimated the crude (cPR) and adjusted (aPR) prevalence ratios with their respective 95%CI. We analyzed a sample of 227,740 adults from 20 LAC countries. The prevalence of parents’ non-intention to vaccinate their children and adolescents against COVID-19 was 7.8% (n = 15,196). An age above 35 years old, educational level above college, compliance with physical distancing, use of masks, having economic insecurity, having had COVID-19, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, having a chronic condition or two or more comorbidities, and being vaccinated were associated with a lower prevalence of non-intention to vaccinate children and adolescents against COVID-19. Living in a town, a village, or a rural area was associated with a higher prevalence of non-intention to vaccinate children and adolescents against COVID-19. Approximately nine out of ten parents in LAC intended to vaccinate their children and adolescents against COVID-19. Our results allow for understanding parents’ intentions to vaccinate children and adolescents and help promote and develop education strategies for national vaccination plans against COVID-19.

Peru, one of the most affected countries by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, imposed one of the earliest and toughest lockdowns in the world. 1 Despite regional variations, the overall picture situates Peru amongst the worst hit in the number of cases, deaths per million, and total excess deaths. 2 Factors contributing to these results are diverse, including geopolitics, international supply chain, political instability, social and economic crisis, and corruption.

Objective We assessed the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) and its associated factors in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We performed secondary data analysis of a survey conducted by Facebook and the University of Maryland. We included adults surveyed from April to May 2020. FI was measured by concerns about having enough to eat during the following week. Sociodemographic, mental health, and COVID-19-related variables were collected. We performed generalized Poisson regressions models considering the complex sampling design. We estimated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios with their 95% confidence intervals. Results We included 1,324,272 adults; 50.5% were female, 42.9% were under 35 years old, 78.9% lived in a city, and 18.6% had COVID-19 symptoms. The prevalence of food insecurity in LAC was 75.7% (n=1,016,841), with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti with 90.8%, 86.7%, and 85.5%, respectively, showing the highest prevalence. Gender, area of residence, presence of COVID-19 symptoms, and fear of getting seriously ill or that a family member gets seriously ill from COVID-19 were associated with a higher prevalence of food insecurity. In contrast, increasing age was associated with a lower prevalence. Conclusion The prevalence of food insecurity during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in LAC was high and was associated with sociodemographic and COVID-19-related variables.

Objetivos: Estimar la prevalencia y los factores asociados a la intención de vacunación (IDV) contra la COVID-19 en el Perú. Materiales y métodos: Estudio transversal analítico utilizando una encuesta realizada por la Universidad de Maryland, EUA, en Facebook. La variable dependiente fue la IDV. Se calcularon razones de prevalencia (RP) crudas y ajustadas, con sus intervalos de confianza al 95% (IC95%), mediante modelos lineales generalizados de la familia Poisson para evaluar la asociación de variables sociodemográficas, el cumplimiento de estrategias comunitarias de mitigación, los síntomas de la COVID-19, la salud mental y la aceptación de la vacunación ante la recomendación (AVR) por diversos actores y autoridades sanitarias. Resultados: Se analizaron los datos de 17 162 adultos. La prevalencia general de la IDV fue del 74,9%. Se asociaron a una menor prevalencia de la IDV ser de sexo femenino (RP = 0,95; IC95%: 0,94-0,97), vivir en un pueblo (RP = 0,95; IC95%: 0,91-0,99) o en una aldea u otra área rural (RP = 0,90; IC95%: 0,86-0,93) y la AVR de políticos (RP = 0,89; IC95%: 0,87-0,92). Contrariamente, tener síntomas de COVID-19 (RP = 1,06; IC95%: 1,03-1,09), inseguridad económica (RP = 1,04; IC95%: 1,01-1,06), miedo a enfermar o que un familiar enferme de COVID-19 (RP = 1,49; IC95%: 1,36-1,64) y la AVR de familiares y amigos (RP = 1,10; IC95%: 1,08-1,12), trabajadores de la salud (RP = 1,29; IC95%: 1,26- 1,32), la Organización Mundial de la Salud (RP = 1,34; IC95%: 1,29-1,40) y funcionarios del gobierno (RP = 1,18; IC95%: 1,15-1,22) se asociaron con mayor prevalencia de IDV. Conclusiones: Tres cuartas partes de los encuestados manifiestan IDV. Existen factores potencialmente modificables que podrían mejorar la aceptación de la vacuna.

Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia y factores asociados a la intención de vacunación (IDV) contra la COVID-19 en el Perú. Material y métodos: Estudio transversal analítico utilizando la encuesta realizada por Universidad de Maryland, EUA, en Facebook. Las variables dependientes fueron la IDV. Se calcularon razones de prevalencia (RP) crudas y ajustadas, con sus intervalos de confianza al 95% (IC95%), mediante modelos lineales generalizados de la familia Poisson, para evaluar la asociación de variables sociodemográficas, cumplimiento de estrategias comunitarias de mitigación, síntomas de COVID-19, salud mental y aceptación de la vacunación ante la recomendación (AVR) por diversos actores y autoridades sanitarias, con la IDV. Resultados: Se analizaron los datos de 17.162 adultos. La prevalencia general de IDV fue de 74,9%. Se asoció a menor prevalencia de IDV el sexo femenino, vivir en un pueblo o zona rural y la AVR de políticos, RP=0,95 (IC95%:0,94-0,96), RP=0,95 (IC95%:0,91-0,99), RP=0,90 (IC95%:0,86-0,93) y RP=0,89 (IC95%:0,87-0,91); respectivamente. Contrariamente, tener síntomas de COVID-19, inseguridad económica, miedo a que un familiar enferme de COVID-19, síntomas depresivos y la AVR de familiares y amigos, trabajadores de la salud, organización mundial de la salud y funcionarios del gobierno se asociaron con mayor prevalencia de IDV, RP=1,05 (IC95%:1,03-1,08), RP=1,03 (IC95%:1,01-1,06), RP=1,48 (IC95%:1,35-1,63), RP=1,03 (IC95%:1,01-1,06), RP=1,10 (IC95%:1,08-1,12), RP=1,29 (IC95%:1,26-1,32), RP=1,34 (IC95%:1,29-1,40) y RP=1,18 (IC95%:1,15-1,21); respectivamente. Conclusión: Tres cuartas partes de los encuestados manifiestan IDV. Existen factores potencialmente modificables que podrían mejorar la aceptación de la vacuna.

Users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have a lower intention to receive vaccines. Furthermore, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region are among the most affected areas by the COVID-19 pandemics and present a high proportion of CAM users. Therefore, this study evaluates the association between the consumption of herbal supplements or homeopathic remedies to prevent COVID-19 and the intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the LAC region. We conducted a secondary data analysis of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) survey with Facebook to assess COVID-19 beliefs, behaviours, and norms. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using generalized linear models of the Poisson family with the log link function. The prevalence of the use of products to prevent COVID-19 was the following: consumption of herbal supplements (7.2%), use of homeopathic remedies (4.8%), and consumption of garlic, ginger, and lemon (11.8%). An association was found between using herbal supplements (19.0% vs. 12.8%; aPR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.30–1.58), the use of homeopathic remedies (20.3% vs. 12.3%; aPR = 1.58; 95% CI: 1.25–1.98), and the consumption of garlic, ginger, and lemon (18.9% vs. 11.9%; aPR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.50–1.61) and non-intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. In the LAC population, there is an association between using herbal supplements, using homeopathic remedies and consuming garlic, ginger, and lemon to prevent infection by COVID-19 and non-intention to vaccinate against this disease. Therefore, it is necessary to design targeted strategies for groups that consume these products as preventive measures against COVID-19 to increase vaccination coverage and expand the information regarding transmission and prevention strategies for SARS-CoV-2.

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