Department of Medical Laboratories Technology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, P.O. Box 344, Madinah 42353, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 2;18(15):8185. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18158185.
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020. The most promising strategy to control the pandemic was to develop a vaccine. However, vaccination hesitancy is a major threat to world public health. Understanding the reasons behind this hesitancy might help in developing encouragement strategies. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia. A total of 1599 responses were received; the overall vaccine acceptancy was 79.2%. Age, sex, and nationality of participants significantly predicted the vaccination status. A significantly higher proportion of participants, who reported being vaccinated, or intended to receive the vaccine, stated that the COVID-19 infection is dangerous, or varies from person to person; the vaccine is safe, and think there is a definite need for the vaccine ( < 0.001). The major encouragement factors to receive the vaccine were either confidence in the government decisions (54.8%), or the feeling of responsibility to stop the pandemic (48.7%), whereas the main discouraging factors were concerns about the insufficient clinical trials (11.4%), or the undiscovered side effects (11%). The results of this study indicate good acceptance toward the COVID-19 vaccine among residents of Saudi Arabia.
2020 年 3 月，世界卫生组织宣布 COVID-19 大流行。控制大流行的最有希望的策略是开发疫苗。然而，疫苗犹豫是世界公共卫生的主要威胁。了解这种犹豫的原因可能有助于制定鼓励策略。本横断面研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯对 COVID-19 疫苗的知识和态度。共收到 1599 份回复，疫苗总体接受率为 79.2%。参与者的年龄、性别和国籍显著预测了接种状况。报告已接种或打算接种疫苗的参与者中，有相当大的比例表示 COVID-19 感染是危险的，或因人而异；疫苗是安全的，并认为确实需要接种疫苗（<0.001）。接种疫苗的主要鼓励因素是对政府决策有信心（54.8%），还是有责任感阻止大流行（48.7%），而主要的阻碍因素是担心临床试验不足（11.4%），或未发现的副作用（11%）。这项研究的结果表明，沙特阿拉伯居民对 COVID-19 疫苗的接受程度良好。
