COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability and Adherence to Preventive Measures in Somalia: Results of an Online Survey

Abstract

Most countries are currently gravitating towards vaccination as mainstay strategy to quell COVID-19 transmission. Between December 2020 and January 2021, we conducted a follow-up online survey in Somalia to monitor adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures, and COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and reasons for vaccine hesitancy. Adherence was measured via a composite adherence score based on four measures (physical distancing, face mask use, hand hygiene, and mouth covering when coughing/sneezing). We analyzed 4543 responses (mean age: 23.5 ± 6.4 years, 62.4% males). The mean adherence score during this survey was lower than the score during a similar survey in April 2020. A total of 76.8% of respondents were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Flu-like symptoms were more frequently reported in the current survey compared to previous surveys. Multiple logistic regression showed that participants who experienced flu-like symptoms, those in the healthcare sector, and those with higher adherence scores had higher odds for vaccine acceptability while being a female reduced the willingness to be vaccinated. In conclusion, our data suggest that the decreasing adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures may have caused increased flu-like symptoms over time. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Somalia is relatively high but could be improved by addressing factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability and Its Determinants in Mozambique: An Online Survey

“…Acceptability was relatively high among healthcare workers (86.6%) but significantly lower in the general population (64.8%). Such higher vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers was also reported in a recent survey in Somalia [ 8 ] and the Eastern Cape in South Africa [ 9 ], but surprisingly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), healthcare workers were less willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine [ 10 ]. In a recent systematic review of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy worldwide, in 62% of the surveys among the general public, the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination was at least 70% [ 11 ].…”

“…Gender, marital status, and the result of the COVID-19 test were not associated with vaccine availability as was reported in a survey in the DRC [ 10 ]. However, a recent survey in several low- and middle-income countries [ 22 ] and a survey in Somalia [ 8 ] showed that being a female reduced the odds for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance [ 8 , 22 ]. Moreover, in a systematic review of nationally representative samples in high-income countries, being male, older, high-income, highly educated, and belonging to a majority ethnic group were consistently associated with greater likelihood of having the intention to be vaccinated [ 26 ].…”

Willingness to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Determinant Factors Among Lactating Mothers in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine: It is defined as those mothers who had responded “Yes” for a question “Do you accept COVID-19 vaccination if it is available right now?” coded as “0” and those who responded “No” were considered as vaccine hesitancy and coded as “1”. 29 …”

“…The questionnaires were adopted after reviewing relevant literature on the problem under study. [26][27][28][29] The tool was first prepared in the English language and translated to the Amharic language by language experts and then back to the English language to maintain its consistency. The questionnaire was divided into four parts: firstly, sociodemographic characteristics; secondly; knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine; thirdly, attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination; fourthly, adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures, and lastly willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination if it becomes available.…”

“…coded as "0" and those who responded "No" were considered as vaccine hesitancy and coded as "1". 29 Adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures: Those mothers who practiced more than or equal to 80% of COVID-19 infection mitigation measures practice-related questions correctly were interpreted as having good adherence whereas those mothers who had responses less than 80% was interpreted as having poor adherence. 30 Knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine: Those mothers who had scored less than 70% of knowledge related items were coded as poor knowledge and those who had scored greater than or equal to 70% were coded as good knowledge.…”