ABSTRACT
Background: Several vaccines have been developed and tested against COVID-19 around the globe. Vaccine hesitancy and misinformation poses major challenges to the achievement of coverage and population immunity. Understanding key determinants that influence the preferences and demands of a COVID-19 vaccine by the community may help to develop strategies for improving coverage. Objectives: To assess willingness to receive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and identify the factors associated with it among the general population of Uttar Pradesh, North India. Material and methods: A web-based cross sectional study was conducted in the month of May 2021 among the unvaccinated general adult population of Uttar Pradesh, Northern India adopting an exponential, non-discriminative snowball sampling technique. A bilingual, self-administered anonymous semi-structured questionnaire in google form was designed and sent to the study participants through social media platform, WhatsApp. Data collected were extracted into excel sheets and was analyzed using SPSS software, version 21.0. Bivariate analysis was performed to identify the key determinants for vaccine acceptance among the participants. Result: Out of 254 participants completing the questionnaire, 219 (86.2%) showed willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, whereas 10 (4.0%) admitted hesitancy and 25 (9.8%) were not sure. Younger age-group (18-44 years), female gender, absence of any co-morbidity, lower education level, current employment status, positive history of confirmed COVID-19 infection in the person and positive history of confirmed COVID-19 infection in any family member/friend were the factors found to be significantly associated with the willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: During the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India, high acceptance for COVID-19 vaccination was found among the general population of Uttar Pradesh, whereas concerns about vaccine safety may hinder the actual vaccine uptake.