The attitude of fully vaccinated individuals towards COVID-19 vaccine booster dose: a transverse study from Jordan

ABSTRACT

Objectives COVID-19 vaccines are efficient against serious infections, and those initiated by the various variants. Many high- and middle-income countries have decided to offer third-dose boosters to ensure their populations remain protected against novel COVID-19 variants before additional waves of COVID-19. This study aims to assess individuals' attitudes towards COVID-19 booster vaccination dose and to determine predictors of this attitude. Methods This study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. The inclusion criteria for participants were Jordanian adults who had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A quota sampling strategy based on the participant's, age and gender was used to ensure that the sample was broadly representative of the general population in Jordan. The instrument was distributed across popular social networking sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp. The study was conducted in October 2021. Key findings The response rate of this study was 63.5% (n = 952). The mean score of attitudes towards a booster dose of COVID-19 was 47.1 +/- 8.2, indicating that about half of the sample was supportive to the booster dose. There were differences in the acceptability of a booster dose for COVID-19 according to the demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants. Individuals with high income (B = 0.210, P = 0.000), high educational level (B = -0.076, P = 0.026), those who have suffered vaccine side effects (B = -0.081, P = 0.013) and follow the news about COVID-19 (B = 0.076, P = 0.043) were more likely to accept the booster dose than the other groups. Conclusions Participants had mixed attitudes towards the booster dose with about half of the participants willing to take the booster. Some factors associated with such attitude were identified. The findings are useful in developing and implementing effective vaccination strategies that target people who are not ready to take a booster dose.