ABSTRACT
Background COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is a major problem worldwide that impedes vaccine uptake. We explored factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Kazakhstan. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional face-to-face survey of 991 adults in Kazakhstan in July 2021, using quota sampling of respondents over 18 years old reflecting the distribution of gender, age, residence type, and geographical regions of Kazakhstan, according to the 2020 census. Results Over two third (68.4%) of the sample was vaccine hesitant;22.11% - received a vaccine (18.6%-Sputnik V, 2%-Hayat-Vax, 0.9%-QazCovid and 0.6%- CoronaVac). We used logistic regression to explore factors that were associated with vaccine hesitancy, adjusting age, education, employment, type of residence, self-reported COVID-19. The odds of not being vaccine hesitant were higher among those who had a higher perception that the COVID-19 vaccine was important for health OR = 2.66 (95%CI:2.24,3.17), higher belief in vaccine safety/effectiveness OR = 3.16 (95%CI:2.57,3.89), higher trust in government/health providers OR = 3.32 (95%CI:2.72,4.05), higher trust in official sources of information OR = 1.16 (95%CI:1.12,1.21), higher adherence to preventive measures OR = 1.05 (95%CI:1.03,1.08), knew someone diagnosed with COVID-19 OR = 1.36 (95%CI:1.01,1.82), or who died of COVID-19 OR = 1.47 (95%CI:1.04,2.08), had been ever tested for COVID-19 OR = 1.75 (95%CI:1.30,2.35), had ever received flu vaccine OR = 2.16 (95%CI:1.62,2.88), among health professionals OR = 2.76 (95%CI:1.38,5.51), and who had lower vaccine conspiracy beliefs OR = 0.48 (95% CI:0.40,0.58). Conclusions Vaccine accepting individuals held positive beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine, had greater trust in government/official sources of information/health care workers, had greater exposure to COVID-19. Interventions aimed at reducing vaccine hesitancy need to address sources people find credible and may need to target individuals who have had limited exposure to the risks of COVID-19. Key messages • Strategies to increase trust in government/ health care workers and official sources of information can be an effective approach to reduce COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy. • Interventions to reduce COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy should target individuals who have had limited exposure to the risks of COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. The outbreak of a new, previously unknown infection caused by a strain of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has become one of the challenges for public health in general and made its own adjustments to the lifestyle and private life of people dictated by coronavirus restrictions. At the same time, the population of the country had to adapt their behavior, including the decision to vaccinate, based on a large amount of information from various sources. The aim. Study the level of public confidence in various sources of information about COVID-19 in Kazakhstan in order to improve subsequent information campaigns. Materials and methods. Study design - cross-sectional, quota sampling, taking into account the distribution of gender, age, territory and type of residence in the general population of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Descriptive statistical analyses were applied. The relationship between source of information and social-demographic variables (age, sex, and vaccination status) was tested using t-test. Statistical significance was set at p=0.05. Results. The level of trust in most sources of information is rather low. The most trusted category is "consultations with healthcare professionals" (mean on a scale of 1 to 5 - 3.04, 95% confidence interval: 2.97 - 3.11). A low level of trust had such sources of information as "information from celebrities and influential people" - 2.08 (2.02-2.15), as well as "information from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram" - 2.29 (2.23-2.36). Conclusion. The results of previous study showed that the effectiveness of communication in social networks involving famous people has its limitations. At the same time, the lack of trust that is common to almost all sources of information can undermine the efforts of public health professionals to communicate key messages to different population groups. During conducting information campaigns, it is necessary to look for ways to increase the trusting of important sources of information, as well as to segment the target audience depending on the trusting of them.