Ministry of Health and Wellness, Gaborone, Botswana.
Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Palapye, Botswana.
PLoS One. 2022 Feb 4;17(2):e0263375. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263375. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 disease burden continues to be high worldwide and vaccines continue to be developed to help combat the pandemic. Acceptance and risk perception for COVID-19 vaccines is unknown in Botswana despite the government's decision to roll out the vaccine nationally.
This study aims to assess the acceptance rate and risk perception of COVID-19 vaccines amongst the general population in Botswana.
We interviewed 5300 adults in Botswana from 1-28 February 2021 using self-administered questionnaires. The main outcomes of the study were vaccine acceptance and hesitancy rates. Demographic, experiential and socio-cultural factors were explored for their association with outcome variables.
Two-thirds of the participants were females (3199), with those aged 24-54 making the highest proportion (61%). The acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccine was 73.4% (95% CI: 72.2%-74.6%) with vaccine hesitancy at 31.3% (95% CI: 30.0%-32.6%). When the dependent variable was vaccine acceptance, males had higher odds of accepting the vaccine compared to females (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.4). Individuals aged 55-64 had high odds of accepting the vaccine compared to those aged 65 and above (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 0.6, 2.5). The odds of accepting the vaccine for someone with primary school education were about 2.5 times that of an individual with post graduate level of education. Finally, individuals with comorbidities had higher odds (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.5) of accepting the vaccine compared to those without any underlying conditions.
This study demonstrated a high acceptance rate for the COVID-19 vaccine and a low risk perception in Botswana. In order to achieve a high vaccine coverage and ensure a successful vaccination process, there is need to target populations with high vaccine hesitancy rates. A qualitative study to assess the factors associated with vaccine acceptance and hesitancy is recommended to provide an in-depth analysis of the findings.
新冠疫情在全球范围内仍持续存在，且疫苗的研发工作也在持续进行，以帮助抗击这一流行病。尽管博茨瓦纳政府已决定在全国范围内推出疫苗，但公众对新冠疫苗的接受度和风险感知情况尚不清楚。
本研究旨在评估博茨瓦纳普通人群对新冠疫苗的接受率和风险感知。
我们于 2021 年 2 月 1 日至 28 日期间，使用自填式问卷对博茨瓦纳的 5300 名成年人进行了访谈。本研究的主要结果是疫苗的接受率和犹豫率。探讨了人口统计学、经验和社会文化因素与结果变量之间的关系。
参与者中有三分之二为女性（3199 人），年龄在 24-54 岁的比例最高（61%）。新冠疫苗的接受率为 73.4%（95%CI：72.2%-74.6%），疫苗犹豫率为 31.3%（95%CI：30.0%-32.6%）。当因变量为疫苗接受度时，与女性相比，男性更有可能接受疫苗（OR=1.2，95%CI：1.0，1.4）。与 65 岁及以上的人相比，55-64 岁的人更有可能接受疫苗（OR=1.2，95%CI：0.6，2.5）。接受过小学教育的人接种疫苗的可能性是接受过研究生教育的人的 2.5 倍左右。最后，与没有任何潜在疾病的人相比，患有合并症的人更有可能接受疫苗（OR=1.2，95%CI：1.0，1.5）。
本研究表明，博茨瓦纳对新冠疫苗的接受率较高，风险感知较低。为了实现高疫苗覆盖率并确保疫苗接种过程成功，需要针对疫苗犹豫率较高的人群开展工作。建议进行一项定性研究，以评估与疫苗接受度和犹豫度相关的因素，从而深入分析研究结果。
