Acceptance and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines: A cross-sectional study from Jordan

PLoS One. 2021 Apr 23;16(4):e0250555. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250555. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Vaccines are effective interventions that can reduce the high burden of diseases globally. However, public vaccine hesitancy is a pressing problem for public health authorities. With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, little information is available on the public acceptability and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines in Jordan. This study aimed to investigate the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines and its predictors in addition to the attitudes towards these vaccines among public in Jordan. An online, cross-sectional, and self-administered questionnaire was instrumentalized to survey adult participants from Jordan on the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines. Logistic regression analysis was used to find the predictors of COVID-19 vaccines' acceptability. A total of 3,100 participants completed the survey. The public acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines was fairly low (37.4%) in Jordan. Males (OR = 2.488, 95CI% = 1.834-3.375, p < .001) and those who took the seasonal influenza vaccine (OR = 2.036, 95CI% = 1.306-3.174, p = .002) were more likely to accept COVID-19 vaccines. Similarly, participants who believed that vaccines are generally safe (OR = 9.258, 95CI% = 6.020-14.237, p < .001) and those who were willing to pay for vaccines (OR = 19.223, 95CI% = 13.665-27.042, p < .001), once available, were more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccines. However, those above 35 years old (OR = 0.376, 95CI% = 0.233-0.607, p < .001) and employed participants (OR = 0.542, 95CI% = 0.405-0.725, p < .001) were less likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, participants who believed that there was a conspiracy behind COVID-19 (OR = 0.502, 95CI% = 0.356-0.709, p < .001) and those who do not trust any source of information on COVID-19 vaccines (OR = 0.271, 95CI% = 0.183-0.400, p < .001), were less likely to have acceptance towards them. The most trusted sources of information on COVID-19 vaccines were healthcare providers. Systematic interventions are required by public health authorities to reduce the levels of vaccines' hesitancy and improve their acceptance. We believe these results and specifically the low rate of acceptability is alarming to Jordanian health authorities and should stir further studies on the root causes and the need of awareness campaigns. These interventions should take the form of reviving the trust in national health authorities and structured awareness campaigns that offer transparent information about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and the technology that was utilized in their production.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude*
  • COVID-19 / prevention & control*
  • COVID-19 / virology
  • COVID-19 Vaccines / administration & dosage*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Jordan
  • Male
  • Odds Ratio
  • SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Vaccination / psychology*
  • Vaccination / statistics & numerical data
  • Vaccination Refusal / statistics & numerical data
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • COVID-19 Vaccines

Grants and funding

TE received the fund. This research was supported by the Deanship of Research, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan [Grant number 816/2020]. https://www.just.edu.jo/Deanships/DeanshipofResearch/Pages/Default.aspx The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.