Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Singapore Med J. 2024 Sep 1;65(9):494-501. doi: 10.4103/singaporemedj.SMJ-2021-259. Epub 2023 Apr 6.
Vaccination is critical in controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, vaccine perception and acceptance among pregnant and lactating women is unknown in Singapore. We aimed to determine the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among these two groups of women in Singapore and the factors associated with vaccine acceptance.
We conducted an anonymous, online survey on the perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and its acceptance by pregnant and lactating women at a tertiary maternal and child hospital in Singapore from 1 March to 31 May 2021. Information on their demographics and knowledge was collected. These factors were assessed for their relationship with vaccine acceptance.
A total of 201 pregnant and 207 lactating women participated. Vaccine acceptance rates in pregnant and lactating women were 30.3% and 16.9%, respectively. Pregnant women who were unsure or unwilling to take the vaccine cited concerns about safety of the vaccine during pregnancy (92.9%), while lactating women were concerned about its potential long-term negative effects on the breastfeeding child (75.6%). Factors that were positively associated with vaccine acceptance included a lower monthly household income or education level, appropriate knowledge regarding vaccine mechanism and higher perceived maternal risk of COVID-19. Most pregnant (70.0%) and lactating women (83.7%) were willing to take the vaccine only when more safety data during pregnancy and breastfeeding were available.
COVID-19 vaccine acceptance was low among pregnant and lactating women in Singapore. Addressing the safety concerns when more data are available and education on the mechanism of vaccine action will likely improve acceptance among these women.
接种疫苗对于控制 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行至关重要。然而，新加坡的孕妇和哺乳期妇女对疫苗的看法和接受程度尚不清楚。我们旨在确定这两组新加坡妇女对 COVID-19 疫苗的接受程度以及与疫苗接受程度相关的因素。
我们于 2021 年 3 月 1 日至 5 月 31 日在新加坡一家三级母婴医院对 COVID-19 疫苗的认知及其在孕妇和哺乳期妇女中的接受情况进行了一项匿名在线调查。收集了有关她们人口统计学和知识的信息。评估了这些因素与疫苗接受程度的关系。
共有 201 名孕妇和 207 名哺乳期妇女参加了调查。孕妇和哺乳期妇女的疫苗接种率分别为 30.3%和 16.9%。对疫苗持不确定或不愿接种的孕妇表示担心疫苗在怀孕期间的安全性（92.9%），而哺乳期妇女则担心疫苗对母乳喂养婴儿的潜在长期负面影响（75.6%）。与疫苗接种意愿呈正相关的因素包括家庭月收入较低或教育水平较低、对疫苗机制的适当了解以及认为母亲感染 COVID-19 的风险较高。大多数孕妇（70.0%）和哺乳期妇女（83.7%）仅在怀孕期间和哺乳期有更多安全性数据时才愿意接种疫苗。
新加坡孕妇和哺乳期妇女对 COVID-19 疫苗的接受程度较低。在获得更多数据时解决安全性问题，并对疫苗作用机制进行教育，可能会提高这些妇女对疫苗的接受程度。
