Knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and perceived risk about COVID-19 vaccine and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh govt. launched a nationwide vaccination drive against SARS-CoV-2 infection from early February 2021. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines and examine the factors associated with the acceptance in Bangladesh. In between January 30 to February 6, 2021, we conducted a web-based anonymous cross-sectional survey among the Bangladeshi general population. At the start of the survey, there was a detailed consent section that explained the study’s intent, the types of questions we would ask, the anonymity of the study, and the study’s voluntary nature. The survey only continued when a respondent consented, and the answers were provided by the respondents themselves. The multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the factors that influence the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 605 eligible respondents took part in this survey (population size 1630046161 and required sample size 591) with an age range of 18 to 100. A large proportion of the respondents are aged less than 50 (82%) and male (62.15%). The majority of the respondents live in urban areas (60.83%). A total of 61.16% (370/605) of the respondents were willing to accept/take the COVID-19 vaccine. Among the accepted group, only 35.14% showed the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine immediately, while 64.86% would delay the vaccination until they are confirmed about the vaccine’s efficacy and safety or COVID-19 becomes deadlier in Bangladesh. The regression results showed age, gender, location (urban/rural), level of education, income, perceived risk of being infected with COVID-19 in the future, perceived severity of infection, having previous vaccination experience after age 18, having higher knowledge about COVID-19 and vaccination were significantly associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. The research reported a high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine refusal and hesitancy in Bangladesh. To diminish the vaccine hesitancy and increase the uptake, the policymakers need to design a well-researched immunization strategy to remove the vaccination barriers. To improve vaccine acceptance among people, false rumors and misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines must be dispelled (especially on the internet) and people must be exposed to the actual scientific facts.

A Global Map of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Rates per Country: An Updated Concise Narrative Review

“…An online-based survey study involving 605 respondents that was conducted during January-February 2021 showed an overall rate for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance of 61.2%. 52 Another study from the country using face-to-face interviews and involved 1134 participants from the general population in January 2021 showed an overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate of 67.5%. 53 In a larger study that used both online and face-to-face interviews and was conducted during January-February 2021 involving 4175 respondents, the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 60.5%.…”

Fear of COVID-19 predicts vaccination willingness 14 months later

“…We argue for caution when using threat messages to promote vaccination willingness, because exaggerated or incorrect messaging could fuel vaccine skepticism and erode public trust, which are in turn two other important factors predicting vaccination willingness (Daly et al, 2021;Lindholt et al, 2020). Alternatively, it is possible that people who have low fear of COVID-19 have incorrect ideas about the potential dangers of COVID-19 for their own health and the health of their loved ones (Bono et al, 2021;Gallè et al, 2021;Mahmud et al, 2021). Information campaigns addressing such misconceptions may be a more appropriate way to bring threat perceptions in line with the objective risks and thereby increasing vaccination willingness and compliance with public health measures (Gallè et al, 2021;Huynh et al, 2021;Mahmud et al, 2021).…”

“…Alternatively, it is possible that people who have low fear of COVID-19 have incorrect ideas about the potential dangers of COVID-19 for their own health and the health of their loved ones (Bono et al, 2021;Gallè et al, 2021;Mahmud et al, 2021). Information campaigns addressing such misconceptions may be a more appropriate way to bring threat perceptions in line with the objective risks and thereby increasing vaccination willingness and compliance with public health measures (Gallè et al, 2021;Huynh et al, 2021;Mahmud et al, 2021).…”

Knowledge, Attitude, Practices, and Determinants of Them towards Tuberculosis in Bangladesh: A Cross-sectional Study

“…The statistical significance of the correlation between socio-demographic factors and knowledge of the respondents and their practice and attitude towards TB was inspected using the Chi-square test. All the significant factors at a 10% level of significance in the Chi-square test were included in the univariate logistic regressions [23]. We did so to recheck the association between socio-demographic factors and knowledge of the respondents and their practice and attitude towards TB.…”