Willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and associated factors in Migori County, Kenya: Analysis of cross-sectional observational survey data.

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the daunting challenge of vaccine hesitancy. We aimed to describe attitudes towards virus containment and vaccination in rural Kenya. Identifying factors associated with willingness to be vaccinated and attitudes towards information sources and health worker outreach, will allow for targeted programming and prevention methods.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional observational survey. This study was conducted in Migori County, Kenya. 7,196 heads of households were surveyed between May 3, 2021 and June 25, 2021. The primary outcome was willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

RESULTS

5,386 of the 7,196 total heads of households (74.8%) were willing to get the COVD-19 vaccination. Those willing to get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms (AOR=7.51, 95% CI=3.04-18.55, P-value<0.001) and those who believe everyone should be vaccinated according to the national vaccine schedule (AOR=18.91, 95% CI=6.76-52.88, P-value<0.001) were more likely to be willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The recommendation of the Ministry of Health was the highest factor in willingness to be vaccinated, with 27% (1942) reporting this recommendation extremely influenced their decision. Nearly half of respondents (3047, 42.3%) believed there is a possibility that COVID-19 is a global conspiracy. None of the demographic factors analyzed were associated with willingness to get the vaccination.

DISCUSSION

We describe factors that contribute to willingness to get a new vaccination in a rural Kenyan community. Measuring vaccine willingness against covariables selected based on previous literature and programmatic experience provides hyper-local information to improve regional programming and future pandemic preparedness for organizations working in similar environments.