COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among people in Syria: An incipient crisis

Swed, Sarya; Baroudi, Ihsan; Ezzdean, Weaam; Sawa, Bisher; Bohsas, Haidara; Patwary, Muhammad Mainuddin

doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103324

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Syrians can receive the vaccine whether or not they are pre-registered through an online platform [ 7 ]. Our study showed that vaccine hesitancy was higher among rural areas, and this was consistent with previous Syrian studies [ 27 , 28 ]. A possible cause of this is the misunderstanding and myths regarding Covid-19 vaccines and conspiracy beliefs, which is more common in the Syrian countryside.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Covid-19 vaccination reported side effects and hesitancy among the Syrian population: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2023

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Introduction Studying post-vaccination side effects and identifying the reasons behind low vaccine uptake are pivotal for overcoming the pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional study was distributed through social media platforms and face-to-face interviews. Data from vaccinated and unvaccinated participants were collected and analyzed using the chi-square test, multivariable logistic regression to detect factors associated with side effects and severe side effects. Results Of the 3509 participants included, 1672(47.6%) were vaccinated. The most common reason for not taking the vaccine was concerns about the vaccine’s side effects 815(44.4). The majority of symptoms were mild 788(47.1%), followed by moderate 374(22.3%), and severe 144(8.6%). The most common symptoms were tiredness 1028(61.5%), pain at the injection site 933(55.8%), and low-grade fever 684(40.9%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that <40 years (vs. ≥40; OR: 2.113, p-value = 0.008), females (vs. males; OR: 2.245, p-value< .001), did not receive influenza shot last year (vs. did receive Influenza shot last year OR: 1.697, p-value = 0.041), AstraZeneca (vs. other vaccine brands; OR: 2.799, p-value< .001), co-morbidities (vs. no co-morbidities; OR: 1.993, p-value = 0.008), and diabetes mellitus (vs. no diabetes mellitus; OR: 2.788, p-value = 0.007) were associated with severe post-vaccine side effects. Serious side effects reported were blood clots 5(0.3%), thrombocytopenia 2(0.1%), anaphylaxis 1(0.1%), seizures 1(0.1%), and cardiac infarction 1(0.1%). Conclusion Our study revealed that most side effects reported were mild in severity and self-limiting. Increasing the public’s awareness of the nature of the vaccine’s side effects would reduce the misinformation and improve the public’s trust in vaccines. Larger studies to evaluate rare and serious adverse events and long-term side effects are needed, so people can have sufficient information and understanding before making an informed consent which is essential for vaccination.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Covid-19 vaccination reported side effects and hesitancy among the Syrian population: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2023

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“…Since a lot of vaccines with different mechanisms of action were released to the public afterwards, there was an increasing need to know which type of vaccine Syrians would prefer and how this would later affect vaccination rates. Swed et al 10 have suggested that in addition to the aforementioned factors rural areas may have the highest rate of vaccine hesitancy due to factors like high rates of poverty and poor infrastructure. To our knowledge, no study was conducted to investigate the vaccination rates in these areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fears and misconceptions toward COVID‐19 vaccination among Syrian population: A cross‐sectional study

Klib

Ghandour

Alazki

et al. 2023

Health Science Reports

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Background and Aims: Despite the significant milestone of vaccine discovery, the spread of misinformation and pseudoscientific claims has resulted in an increasing number of people refusing vaccination in Syria. In this study, we aimed to explore fears and misconceptions towards COVID-19 vaccines among the Syrian population.Methods: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study between January and May 2022, using a convenience sample of 10,006 participants aged at least 18 years and living in Syria. We administered a validated online/paper questionnaire and conducted face-to-face interviews. We used SPSS software (version 26) for statistical analysis, assessing our data using frequency and χ 2 tests, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.Results: The majority of the participants were female 6048 (60.4%), university degree holders 7304 (73%), and from urban areas 8015 (80.1%). Approximately half of the participants 5021 (50.2%) belonged to the medical sector (49% had concerns about the vaccine). Females, university degree holders, and participants with a history of symptomatic COVID-19 were more likely to have fears about the vaccines. The main concerns about the vaccines were the rapid development, fears of blood clots, and common side effects. The prevalence of some misconceptions was relatively high, such as the belief that the vaccine is an experiment or a secret plan to reduce the population. Reliable sources are crucial to fight misleading information on social media. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine is key to controlling the spread, but acceptance rate is critical. High variability in vaccine acceptance and high vaccine hesitancy can affect the efforts to terminate the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the barriers associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination will be the cornerstone to achieving maximum vaccination coverage. It is important to consider the reasons for Health Sci. Rep.

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Covid-19 Vaccination Efficacy, Reported Side Effects, and Hesitancy Among the Syrian Population

Najjar

Albuaini

Fadel

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Purpose Our study aims to describe post-vaccination side effects, evaluate the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines and determine the reasons for vaccine hesitancy among Syrians. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between April 13 and May 28, 2022. The survey was distributed through social media platforms and face-to-face interviews. Data from vaccinated and unvaccinated participants were collected and analyzed using the chi-square test, multivariable logistic regression to detect factors associated with side effects and severe side effects, and Kaplan-Meier plot to evaluate vaccine efficacy. Results Of the 3509 participants included, 1672 (47.6%) were vaccinated. The most common reasons for not taking the vaccine were concerns about the vaccine’s side effects 815 (44.4%) and not being convinced with the vaccine benefits 762 (41.5%). The majority of symptoms were mild 788 (47.1%), followed by moderate 374 (22.3%), and severe 144 (8.6%). The most common symptoms were tiredness 1028 (61.5%), pain at the injection site 933 (55.8%), and low-grade fever 684 (40.9%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that < 40 years (vs. ≥40; OR: 2.113, p-value = 0.008), females (vs. males; OR: 2.245, p-value < .001), did not receive influenza shot last year (vs. did receive Influenza shot last year OR: 1.697, p-value = 0.041), AstraZeneca (vs. other vaccine brands; OR: 2.799, p-value < .001), co-morbidities (vs. no co-morbidities; OR: 1.993, p-value = 0.008), and diabetes mellitus (vs. no diabetes mellitus; OR: 2.788, p-value = 0.007) were associated with severe post-vaccine side effects. Serious side effects reported were blood clots 5 (0.3%), thrombocytopenia 2 (0.1%), anaphylaxis 1 (0.1%), seizures 1 (0.1%), and cardiac infarction 1 (0.1%). Fully vaccinated participants had higher free of infection time compared with partially vaccinated and previously infected unvaccinated participants (p-value < .001). Conclusion Our study revealed that most side effects reported were mild in severity and self-limiting. Increasing the public’s awareness of the nature of the vaccine’s side effects would reduce the misinformation and improve the public’s trust in vaccines. Larger studies to evaluate rare and serious adverse events and long-term side effects are needed to overcome vaccine hesitancy among people.

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COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among people in Syria: An incipient crisis

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

Covid-19 vaccination reported side effects and hesitancy among the Syrian population: a cross-sectional study

Covid-19 vaccination reported side effects and hesitancy among the Syrian population: a cross-sectional study

Fears and misconceptions toward COVID‐19 vaccination among Syrian population: A cross‐sectional study

Covid-19 Vaccination Efficacy, Reported Side Effects, and Hesitancy Among the Syrian Population

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