Motivators, Barriers, and Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination among Residents of Western Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz A Alhothali; Waleed F Alotaibi; Bassam L Alabbadi; Yousef F Alsubaie; Ahmed Ibrahim Fathelrahman; Asim Ahmed Elnour; Azza A K El-Sheikh; Sayed F Abdelwahab

doi:10.3390/vaccines10122097

Motivators, Barriers, and Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccination among Residents of Western Saudi Arabia

Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Dec 8;10(12):2097. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10122097.

Authors

Abdulaziz A Alhothali¹, Waleed F Alotaibi¹, Bassam L Alabbadi¹, Yousef F Alsubaie¹, Ahmed Ibrahim Fathelrahman², Asim Ahmed Elnour³, Azza A K El-Sheikh⁴, Sayed F Abdelwahab⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
³ College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. AAU Health and Biomedical Research Center, Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 112612, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Basic Health Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: There are limited studies that have assessed COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and side effects, both globally and in the western region of Saudi Arabia (SA).

Objective: This study assessed the acceptance of vaccination against COVID-19, determined motivators and barriers for taking these vaccines, and assessed vaccine side effects in the western region of SA.

Study design: The study was an online cross-sectional study conducted among the people who lived in the western region of SA during the period from December 2021 to March 2022. Participation was voluntary for participants who were above 18 and lived in the Western region of SA. Children and those living in other countries were excluded from the study.

Methods: The study tool was a self-administered questionnaire which assessed COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, determined motivators and barriers for taking the vaccines, and assessed their side effects among 1136 participants in the western region of SA. Data gathered were analyzed by the SSPS version 22 software.

Result: A total of 1136 individuals, aged 18 years and above, participated in the study, with 50.7% (n = 567) being males. Most of the participants were from Taif city (68.4%; n = 777), and 57.6% (n = 654) were unmarried. Pfizer was the most frequently administered vaccine (72.8%; n = 823). Most participants explained that their vaccine administration protected themselves and their families (70.5%; n = 835). The acceptance showed that 55% (n = 626) of the participants had either very high or high confidence in the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, while 14.7% (n = 167) of them had low/very low confidence in its efficacy. The side effects showed that 80.8% (n = 918) of the participants showed that they did not have any difficulties attributed to COVID-19 vaccine administration. Positive attitudes and practices were apparent, and most of the participants (78.3%; n = 889) tended to be actors in the fight against COVID-19.

Conclusions: The current study showed a high level of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among people living in the western region of SA. Health education and communication from authoritative sources will be important to alleviate public concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 pandemic; COVID-19 vaccine barriers; SARS-CoV-2; side effects; vaccine acceptance; vaccines.

Grants and funding

PNURSP2022R91/Taif University