DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: Lahore, the second largest metropolis in Pakistan.
PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted among parents residing in Lahore from March to April 2023. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling.
OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were collected using a prevalidated questionnaire that consisted of four sections: (1) informed consent, (2) demographic details, (3) COVID-19 vaccine uptake in children aged 5-17 years, parents' experience with childhood COVID-19 vaccination and their intention to vaccinate their unvaccinated children and (4) a modified 5C scale tailored to determine parents' confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation and collective responsibility with regard to COVID-19 vaccination.
RESULTS: This study included 414 parents (median age=37 years; mothers=62%). COVID-19 vaccination rates for children in the age groups 12-17 years and 5-11 years were 72.5% and 30.1%, respectively. Transient adverse events following immunisation were reported by 32.7% of parents. Of parents with unvaccinated children aged 12-17 years, only 35% intended to vaccinate them. The majority of parents were not willing to vaccinate their children below 11 years of age. Parents with a self-reported positive history of COVID-19 disease (OR=2.531, p=0.016), and confident in the vaccine's safety and efficacy (OR=1.968, p=0.010), were more inclined to vaccinate their 5-11 years. In terms of vaccination of children below 5 years, confidence in the vaccine (OR=2.942, p=0.003) and a sense of collective responsibility were positive predictors (OR=2.260, p=0.035), while calculation was identified as a negative predictor of parents' intention to vaccinate their under 5 years (OR=0.421, p=0.018).
CONCLUSION: CVH was significantly higher among parents of children aged 5-11 years and children younger than 5 years old. Priority should be given by health authorities to address parental concerns about vaccines and ensure that parents understand the significance of vaccination in protecting their children, to increase vaccination rates. This is because hesitancy towards one specific vaccine can negatively impact hesitancy rates in general.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire was conducted between January 3 to 25, 2021, among HCPs (n = 834) in Bangladesh.
RESULTS: Less than 50% of HCPs would receive the vaccine against COVID-19 if available and 54% were willing to take the vaccine at some stage in the future. Female participants (OR:1.64;95%CI:1.172-2.297), respondents between 18-34 years old (OR:2.42; 95% CI:1.314-4.463), HCPs in the public sector (OR:2.09; 95% CI:1.521-2.878), and those who did not receive a flu vaccine in the previous year (OR:3.1; 95% CI:1.552-6.001) were more likely to delay vaccination.
CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that, if available, less than half of the HCPs would accept a COVID-19 vaccine in Bangladesh. To ensure the broader success of the vaccination drive, tailored strategies and vaccine promotion campaigns targeting HCPs and the general population are needed.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to eligible participants using convenience sampling.
RESULTS: A total of 1,396 participants completed the questionnaire. The respondents showed a median knowledge score of influenza of 11.0/15.0, and most of them (70%) were able to recognize its modes of transmission. However, only 11.3% of the participants reported receiving the seasonal influenza vaccine. Physicians were the respondents' most preferred information source for influenza (35.2%), and their recommendation (44.3%) was the most cited reason for taking its vaccine. On the contrary, not knowing about the vaccine's availability (50.1%), concerns regarding the safety of the vaccine (17%), and not considering influenza as a threat (15.9%) were the main reported barriers to getting vaccinated.
CONCLUSION: The current study showed a low uptake of influenza vaccines in Yemen. The physician's role in promoting influenza vaccination seems to be essential. Extensive and sustained awareness campaigns would likely increase the awareness of influenza and remove misconceptions and negative attitudes toward its vaccine. Equitable access to the vaccine can be promoted by providing it free of charge to the public.
METHODS: Articles were searched from three databases which were WOS, Scopus, and PubMed. The systemic review identified the primary articles related to SIA that focused on the impact of immunization coverage, challenges, and improvement strategies. The inclusion criteria were open access English articles that were published between 2012 and 2021 and conducted in the Asia region.
RESULTS: There are nine articles described and explained regarding some form of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) in their findings across Asia region. The majority of studies selected reported on post vaccination coverage and revealed a multifaceted challenge faced during SIAs which are widely diverse range from the microlevel of interpersonal aspects up to the macrolevel of government policy. Upon further analysis, the intervention at community level was the most dominant strategies reported during the SIA program.
CONCLUSIONS: An effective SIAs program provides the opportunity to increase the national capacity of the polio immunization program, reducing inequities in service delivery and offering additional public health benefits in controlling polio outbreaks in both endemic and nonendemic countries. Strengthening routine immunization (RI) programmes is also important for the sustainability of SIA's programs. Despite the challenges and hurdles, many Asian countries exhibited great political willingness to boost polio immunization coverage through SIA efforts.
METHODS: Adults were selected through a stratified, two-stage cluster community sample in Selangor, Malaysia. The reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the measurement model were assessed before implementing a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to evaluate the significance of the structural paths.
RESULTS: A total of 728 participants were enrolled. The five constructs all showed adequate internal reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. There was a significant, positive relationship to WTP from constructs (perceived barriers [Path coefficient (β) = 0.082, P = 0.036], perceived susceptibility [β = 0.214, P<0.001], and cues to action [β = 0.166, P<0.001]), and the model all together accounted for 8.8% of the variation in WTP. There was a significant, negative relationship between perceived barriers and perceived benefit [β = -0.261, P<0.001], which accounted for 6.8% of variation in perceived benefit.
CONCLUSIONS: Policy and programs should be targeted that can modify individuals' thoughts about disease risk, their obstacles in obtaining the preventive action, and their readiness to obtain a vaccine. Such programs include educational materials about disease risk and clinic visits that can pair HepB screening and vaccination.
METHODS: The first and second COVAD patient self-reported e-surveys were circulated from March to December 2021, and February to June 2022 (ongoing). We collected data on demographics, comorbidities, COVID-19 infection and vaccination history, reasons for hesitancy, and patient reported outcomes. Predictors of hesitancy were analysed using regression models in different groups.
RESULTS: We analysed data from 18 882 (COVAD-1) and 7666 (COVAD-2) respondents. Reassuringly, hesitancy decreased from 2021 (16.5%) to 2022 (5.1%) (OR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.30, P
METHODS: SEIRV models were developed and validated using COVID-19 case and vaccination data from the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, from June 21, 2021 to July 21, 2021 to generate forecasts of COVID-19 cases from July 22, 2021 to December 31, 2021. Three scenarios were examined to measure the effects of vaccination on COVID-19 case trends. Scenarios 1 and 2 represented the trends taking into account the earliest and latest possible times of achieving full vaccination for 80% of the adult population by October 31, 2021 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Scenario 3 described a scenario without vaccination for comparison.
RESULTS: In scenario 1, forecasted cases peaked on August 28, 2021, which was close to the peak of observed cases on August 26, 2021. The observed peak was 20.27% higher than in scenario 1 and 10.37% lower than in scenario 2. The cumulative observed cases from July 22, 2021 to December 31, 2021 were 13.29% higher than in scenario 1 and 55.19% lower than in scenario 2. The daily COVID-19 case trends closely mirrored the forecast of COVID-19 cases in scenario 1 (best-case scenario).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination reduced COVID-19 case trends during the Delta outbreak. The compartmental models developed assisted in the management and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.