COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Hesitancy among Pregnant and Lactating Women in Saudi Arabia

Hayfa A AlHefdhi; Syed Esam Mahmood; Manar Ahmed I Alsaeedi; Haifa' Hisham A Alwabel; Mariam Salem Alshahrani; Ebtihaj Yahya Alshehri; Rawan Ahmed O Alhamlan; Maram Nawar Alosaimi

doi:10.3390/vaccines11020361

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Hesitancy among Pregnant and Lactating Women in Saudi Arabia

Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Feb 5;11(2):361. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11020361.

Authors

Hayfa A AlHefdhi¹, Syed Esam Mahmood¹, Manar Ahmed I Alsaeedi², Haifa' Hisham A Alwabel², Mariam Salem Alshahrani², Ebtihaj Yahya Alshehri², Rawan Ahmed O Alhamlan², Maram Nawar Alosaimi²

Affiliations

¹ Family and Community Medicine Department, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia.
² Intern, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Introduction: Pregnant and breastfeeding women comprise a high-risk group for the development of severe COVID-19. Therefore, vaccination is highly recommended for perinatal women; however, vaccination levels for this group remain inadequate. This study explores the percentage of COVID-19 vaccination among Saudi pregnant and lactating women, as well as their attitudes toward it.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey on a sample of Saudi pregnant and breastfeeding women. The study included pregnant and lactating women.

Results: The percentage of COVID-19 vaccine uptake was 78.2%. A total of 45 (21.8%) out of 206 women did not receive the vaccine. The overall vaccine hesitancy was 21.8%. Breastfeeding women were 2.86 more likely not to receive the vaccine as compared to pregnant women. Being a mother of over five children increased the vaccine uptake among our participating women (n = 20, 90%; p < 0.01). The majority of the subjects had taken the Pfizer vaccine (81.98%, 132/161). The availability of the COVID-19 vaccine was the most common factor for choosing a particular vaccine. Protection from infection (60.2%, 97/161) was reported as the main driver for vaccine uptake. The most common reason perceived for delaying COVID-19 vaccination was being worried about the side effects (176, 85.44%) on one's own body and the effects on the unborn child (130, 63.1%).

Conclusion: We uncovered high levels of hesitancy, primarily induced by concerns about adverse effects and social media-related misinformation. These high levels of vaccine uptake are likely due to the large-scale obligatory vaccination program provided in Saudi Arabia, which was well-structured and far reaching. Our results provide further support for the so-called "protection motivation theory" in boosting vaccine acceptance. Counseling and educating pregnant and breastfeeding women about COVID-19 vaccination is the need of the hour.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; Saudi Arabia; attitudes; behavior; breastfeeding; pregnancy.

Grants and funding

The authors express their gratitude to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through the Small Research Group Project under grant number RGP.01-370-43.