Determinants of COVID-19 immunisation uptake in a country with high mortality and a low vaccination rate.

BACKGROUND: Research concerned with attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in upper middle-income countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is scarce. Currently, B&H has the lowest number of fully vaccinated adults in Europe, and the highest cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths and SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. The aim of our study was to examine the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination status in B&H. METHODS: An online survey among 1304 B&H adults was conducted in October 2021 evaluating vaccine acceptance, together with socio-demographic variables, attitudes and beliefs related to COVID-19 vaccination. RESULTS: The results from a binary logistic regression indicate that those who believed that the COVID-19 vaccine was effective were 45 times more likely to be vaccinated compared to those who did not. We also show that those who had received childhood immunisations were 41 times more likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to those who had never been previously immunised. Other significant factors were related to respondents' trust in government institutions and healthcare policymakers as well as trust in public healthcare workers. CONCLUSION: We suggest that future vaccination campaigns should be aimed at educating the public regarding the importance and safety of vaccines, together with strengthening trust in the public health system.

THE EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK ON TOURISM IN SARAJEVO CANTON

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects that COVID-19 outbreak has had on tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and specifically in Sarajevo Canton. Methodology - A survey was conducted in two rounds in March and September 2020, and responses were obtained from 126 running businesses from the tourism in Sarajevo Canton about the actual and expected consequences that COVID-19 outbreak has had on their business. The respondents were asked questions about the effects that COVID-19 has had on their business operations during the first six months of COVID-19 outbreak and their expectations for the future. The questions also included issues related to the government interventions and stimulus packages to overcome the effects of COVID-19 to ensure the sustainability of the tourism in Sarajevo Canton. Findings - Our results show that all businesses have faced a significant downturn in their business operations and had to undertake different measures and activities internally to overcome (and survive) the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also show that there is very low level of satisfaction with the government interventions to tourism. Contribution - The findings illustrate and confirm many flaws in tourism system in Sarajevo Canton and BiH where tourism has been developing organically and without proper integration of the private and public industry. Our findings can be used for planning purposes and improvement of the situation during COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 period.