Association Between Social Media Use and the Acceptance of Covid-19 Vaccination Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia – A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe 2019 Coronavirus Disease Pandemic (COVID-19) is a worldwide global epidemic. Although acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination will be a critical step in combating the pandemic, achieving high uptake will be difficult, and potentially made more difficult by social media misinformation. This study aimed to examine the association between social media use and acceptance of receiving COVID-19 vaccine among the general population in Saudi Arabia.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was conducted from June 17 to June 19, 2021 among 504 participants of the general population in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected using a three-part online questionnaire (sociodemographic characteristics, medical and vaccination history, pattern of social media use). ResultsAmong 504 participants who completed the survey, 477 participants were acceptant of the vaccine and 27 were non-accepting. A total of 335 individuals had already received the vaccine, 142 were willing to receive the vaccine and 27 were unwilling. One hundred and thirty participants denied using social media for COVID-19 news. Four factors were found to be significant in influencing vaccine acceptance in univariate analysis: having a chronic condition, believing that infertility is a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, being concerned about a serious side effect from the vaccine and basing the decision to be vaccinated on social media information. Two of these factors fell away on multivariate analysis: basing the decision on social media information and a belief that vaccination causes infertility, suggesting that the associations are dependent on other factors.Conclusion‏In conclusion, there was no significant independent relationship between social media usage and people's willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

The impact of information sources on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and resistance in sub-Saharan Africa

“…In contrast, the odds for vaccine resistance were significantly reduced among those who reported that the newspaper was their main source of information during the pandemic. Although the finding of a strong independent association between social media use and vaccine resistance was contrary to previous studies on smaller samples in Saudi Arabia [51,52], this is important considering the wide utilisation of Facebook as the main source of information by many participants during the pandemic. A Facebook IQ survey revealed that more than 95 million people in SSAs access Facebook, with 97% of these doing so on handheld and mobile devices each month.…”

Assessing the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccine in different scenarios in Saudi Arabia

“…The results align with previous studies linking gender to a greater probability of experiencing post-vaccination side effects and more severe symptoms but differed from prior research indicating that gender has no impact on the side effects. 18,[20][21][22][23] Although there is yet no consensus on the influence of gender on the onset and specific symptoms experienced after COVID-19 vaccination, the results of this study support the need to explain to the female population on the higher possibility of experiencing symptoms that may require or not require hospitalization. All age groups report common symptoms, but the participants who reported no symptoms and who reported mild, moderate, and severe symptoms were comparatively younger (Table 3).…”

“…The commonly reported symptoms coincide with previous reports. 8,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] However, the results of the study indicated that pre-vaccination infection may influence the onset of certain side effects, such as anosmia and ageusia reported more by those who got infected before vaccination and temporary post-injection inflammation and allergy and rash reported more by those who did not get infected before vaccination. Apart from informing vaccine recipients on the common side effects, it is also important to notify those who did not get infected and those who got infected before vaccination on specific side effects that they might experience.…”

“…The results were partly similar to a previous study indicating that young people have a higher proportion of side effects and partly aligned with studies showing that age has no statistically significant impact on vaccine symptoms. 18,[20][21][22][23] More participants belonged to the younger age groups so more of those who reported no side effects were younger people and more of those who reported side effects of various severity were also younger people. Age does not seem to be a conclusive determinant of the onset of side effects or the occurrence of specific side effects.…”

COVID-19 Vaccination in Saudi Arabia: A Mini Literature Review

“…In contrast, according to a study [17], 130 participants denied using social media to spread the word about COVID-19. Having a chronic condition (odds ratio [OR]=0.367, P=0.019), thinking that infertility is a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine (OR=0.298, P=0.009), worrying about a serious side effect from the vaccine (somewhat concerned: OR=0.294, P=0.022, very concerned: OR=0.017, P0.0001), and deciding to get vaccinated based on information shared on social media (OR=0.260 Multivariate analysis eliminated the influence of social media (OR=0.356, P=0.071) and the perception that vaccination causes infertility (OR=0.0333, P=0.054) on the final decision.…”