Acceptance and Risk Perception of COVID-19 Vaccine in Uganda: A Cross Sectional Study in Western Uganda

Abstract

Background: Many countries have drawn their attention on developing Corona virus disease 2019 vaccine however there is less emphasis on whether this vaccine could be accepted in most of these countries. This study aimed to investigate acceptance and risk perception of COVID-19 vaccine in Uganda. Method: A simplified snowball sampling technique was used to select 1067 respondents of 18-70 years in western Uganda using an online questionnaire from July to September 2020. Vaccine acceptability and risk perception was assessed using odds ratio at 95% confidence interval using R software version 3.6.3. Results: The acceptance rate for vaccination against COVID-19 was (53.6%; 572/1067) with participants in the reference age group 18-20 (OR: 1; 95%CI: NA); males (OR: 2.1; 95%CI: 1.56-2.71; P=0.000); tertiary level of education (OR: 2.8; 95%CI: 1.25-6.11; P=0.009); students (OR: 3.19; 95%CI: 1.98-5.15; P=0.000) and non-salary earners (OR: 2.29; 95%CI: 1.53-3.44; P=0.000) significantly more likely to accept the vaccine. Results also showed that (46.4%; 495/1067) of the respondents were un-likely to accept the vaccine. About (44.6%; 476/1067) of the respondents were likely to accept vaccine clinical trials with participants in the reference age group 18-20 (OR: 1; 95%CI: NA), students (OR: 2.37; 95%CI: 1.49-3.77; P=0.000), marrieds (OR: 1.3; 95%CI: 1.03-1.69; P=0.028), and non-salary (OR: 1.56; 95%CI: 1.05-2.30; P=0.029) significantly more likely to accept clinical trials. There were (46.7%; 500/1067) of the respondents who perceived the vaccine as being risky with males (OR: 3.13; 95%CI: 2.33-4.21; P=0.000); students (OR: 2.59; 95%CI: 1.63-4.13; P=0.000); Civil servants (OR: 1.49; 95%CI: 0.98-2.25; P=0.063); and non-salary earners; (OR: 2.34; 95%CI: 1.57-3.47; P=0.000) who significantly perceived the vaccine as being more risky.Conclusion: The level of vaccine acceptance (53.6%) and risk perception (46.7%) was relatively average in western Uganda. In order to ensure successful vaccination process, the government needs to prioritize vaccine acceptance strategies especially among the risky group in the community.

Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance among Workers at an Oil Company, Pointe-Noire (Congo)

“…The results showed that 54.91% of company workers did not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to 45.09% of the sample who were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This vaccination acceptance rate was close to those found in Nigeria [10] and Egypt among health workers [11] and slightly lower than the 50.5% and 53.6% found in Saudi Arabia [12] and Uganda respectively [13]. On the other hand, some studies have found vaccination acceptance rates ranging from 66% to 86% [14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Political Ideologies, Government Trust, and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Third, we found that the lower someone perceived their risk of contracting COVID-19 and/or the vaccine having dangerous side effects, the higher their tendency toward vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy cannot lead to being vaccinated if one is concerned about the side effects caused by the vaccine [33]. Attitudes toward the vaccination can be determined depending on the balance between COVID-19 infection, the risk of vaccine's side effects, and attitudes [34].…”

Public acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines and its predictors in Middle ‎Eastern/North African (MENA) countries: a systematic review‎

“… 11–13 Understanding the severity and risks of the COVID-19 is also associated with public awareness of the dangers and encourages people to be more involved in disease prevention. 12 , 14 , 15 Nevertheless, such factors are not extensively reviewed by the previous studies. The current global acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines varies from 35% to 98% across countries, indicating that policymakers need to understand the public attitude to assist the large-scale vaccination programs.…”