Rajakumar Suresh, Shamsuddin Noorasyikin, Alshawsh Mohammed Abdullah, Rajakumar Sutha, Zaman Huri Hasniza
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Saudi Pharm J. 2023 Nov;31(11):101797. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101797. Epub 2023 Sep 26.
Progressive reopening of the economy and declaration of COVID-19 as endemic has relaxed social distancing and mask-wearing necessities in Malaysia. The Ministry of Health of Malaysia reported vaccination rate had reached 86.1% for the first dose and 84.3% for the second dose as of April 2023. However, the uptake of booster doses (third dose or fourth dose) is relatively lower at 68.6% and 1.5%, respectively. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to study the acceptance and perception of Malaysians towards booster doses in Peninsular Malaysia with participants 18 years old and above by distributing questionnaires at public areas such as government offices, major city train stations, and airports. The study included elderly participants who were not technology savvy. Of 395 survey respondents, 69.4% accepted the COVID-19 booster dose. The results showed that smartphone usage (p = 0.019), living area (p = 0.049), and education level (p = 0.006) significantly influenced the perception of booster dose acceptance among socio-demographic characteristics. Despite experiencing side effects from previous vaccination, 65.9% of respondents still opted to receive booster doses (p = 0.019). The highest deciding factor in accepting booster dose was the need for more clinical studies on COVID-19 booster dose (58.2%) (p = 0.045). In conclusion, the survey demonstrates that greater emphasis on updating and providing more clinical studies regarding the need for booster doses will increase the public's acceptance of the COVID-19 booster dose.
马来西亚经济的逐步重新开放以及将新冠病毒宣布为地方性流行病，使得社交距离和佩戴口罩的必要性有所放松。马来西亚卫生部报告称，截至2023年4月，首剂疫苗接种率达到86.1%，第二剂为84.3%。然而，加强针（第三剂或第四剂）的接种率相对较低，分别为68.6%和1.5%。通过在政府办公室、主要城市火车站和机场等公共场所发放问卷，开展了一项横断面调查，以研究马来西亚半岛18岁及以上人群对加强针的接受程度和看法。该研究包括一些不精通技术的老年参与者。在395名调查受访者中，69.4%的人接受新冠病毒加强针。结果显示，在社会人口学特征中，智能手机使用情况（p = 0.019）、居住地区（p = 0.049）和教育水平（p = 0.006）对加强针接受度的看法有显著影响。尽管之前接种疫苗出现过副作用，但65.9%的受访者仍选择接种加强针（p = 0.019）。接受加强针的最高决定因素是需要对新冠病毒加强针进行更多临床研究（58.2%）（p = 0.045）。总之，该调查表明，更加强调更新并提供更多关于加强针必要性的临床研究，将提高公众对新冠病毒加强针的接受度。
