Intention to take COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at public health facilities in Bahir Dar city, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant mothers are a risky population group for COVID-19 and pregnant mothers with COVID-19 are at increased risk of hospitalization, intensive-care unit admission, invasive ventilation support, and maternal mortality. Vaccination is an essential tool in stopping the effect of the pandemic on maternal and child health. However, there are only limited studies in Ethiopia on the intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant women. Thus, this study aimed to assess intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among pregnant women in Bahir Dar city, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted among 590 pregnant women from 23 May to 07 July 2022. The study participants were selected using a systematic sampling technique. Interviewer administrative questionnaire with epicollect5 application was used to collect the data. Both bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed. Statistical significance was defined at a 95% CI with a p-value < 0.05. RESULT: Overall, 19.8% (95% CI: 16.60-23.06%) of pregnant women intend to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Being urban residence (AOR = 3.40, 95% CI: 1.71-6.78), third trimester of gestational age (AOR = 3.11, 95% CI: 1.61-6.03), multipara (AOR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.33-3.97), knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.44-3.77) and having good attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine (AOR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.65-4.33) were significantly associated with intention to take COVID-19 vaccine. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the pregnant women's intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine in this study area was very low. It was significantly associated with residency, gestational age, parity, knowledge, and attitude toward the vaccine. Therefore, strengthening interventions that improve knowledge and attitude about the COVID-19 vaccine, predominantly among those primipara mothers and mothers from rural residences, may raise the intention to take it.

Knowledge, attitude, and intention to accept COVID-19 vaccine among patients with chronic diseases in southern Ethiopia: Multi-center study

Background Most of the COVID-19 fatal cases and severe illnesses like acute respiratory distress syndrome occur in older adults and other people who have underlying medical comorbidities. Understanding patients with chronic disease' knowledge, attitudes, and intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and related factors are necessary to control the mortality of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, this study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine among patients with chronic disease in Southern Ethiopia. Methods and materials A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 409 patients with chronic diseases having a follow-up at the hospitals of the Southern region of Ethiopia from November 14, 2021, to December 24, 2021. A structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was conducted to show the association of variables with knowledge, attitude, and intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The associations of variables were declared with the use of a 95% CI and P-value < 0.05. Results Overall, 79.2, 70.9, and 58.2% of participants had good knowledge, favorable attitude, and intent to take the COVID-19 vaccine, respectively. Age ≥49 years old (AOR = 1.643;95% CI = 1.008–3.060) and college and above level of education (AOR = 3.002;95% CI = 1.897–5.021) were found to be significantly associated with knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine. College and above level of education (AOR = 1.510;95% CI = 1.002–3.975) and good knowledge (AOR = 3.560;95% CI = 1.481–6.120) were found to be significantly associated with intention to take COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion and recommendation Intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine was low among patients with chronic diseases to achieve herd immunity. Therefore, a holistic and multi-sectoral partnership is necessary for a successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Further health education and communication are very crucial methods to improve vaccine acceptance and lastly to achieve herd immunity.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic Preparation and Response on Essential Health Services in Primary and Tertiary Healthcare Settings of Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Countries like Ethiopia have had to make difficult decisions to balance between the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining the essential health service delivery. We assessed the effect of preventive COVID-19 measures on essential healthcare services in selected health facilities of Ethiopia. In a comparative cross-sectional study, we analyzed and compared data from seven health facilities over two periods: the pre-COVID-19 period before the first reported COVID-19 case in the country and during the COVID-19 period. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics and the independent t test. During the COVID-19 period the average number of monthly patient visits in the emergency department, pediatrics outpatient, and adult outpatient dropped by 27%, 30%, and 27%, respectively compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. Family planning; institutional delivery; childhood immunization; antenatal care-, hypertension- and diabetic patient follow-up, did not vary significantly between pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19. Moreover, the monthly average number of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV patients who visited health facilities for drug refill and clinical evaluation did not vary significantly during the two periods. In conclusion, the study highlights that the effect of public restrictions to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic on essential care systems should be considered.