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COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptability: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Lebanese Residents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2023

Souraya Domiati Open the ORCID record for Souraya Domiati [Opens in a new window] ,
Fadi Hodeib ,
Rania El Majzoub  and
Hala Sacre
Souraya Domiati*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
Fadi Hodeib
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Science, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
Rania El Majzoub
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedical Science, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
Hala Sacre
Affiliation:
INSPECT-LB (Institut National de Santé Publique d’Épidémiologie Clinique et de Toxicologie-Liban), Beirut, Lebanon
*
Corresponding author: Souraya Domiati; Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Objective:

Concerns about the side effects of available coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines have posed a significant barrier to vaccination in several countries. Accordingly, the current study aimed to assess the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination and its predictors among the Lebanese population.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2021 among Lebanese adults from the 5 main Lebanese districts. The questionnaire included demographic data, questions about COVID-19 experience, COVID-19 anxiety syndrome scale, and attitudes regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Data were analyzed on SPSS, version 23. Statistical significance was considered at a P value ≤ 0.05 with a 95% CI.

Results:

Of 811 participants, 45.4% (95% CI: 41.9-48.9) accepted taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Choices were negatively affected by concerns about the side effects of the vaccine and positively affected by anxiety and seeking COVID-19 news very closely. Moreover, if the COVID-19 vaccination was a requirement for traveling, participants would be more willing to get the vaccine.

Conclusions:

Since 54.7% of the studied Lebanese adults were either unwilling or undecided to get the vaccine and COVID-19 news was retrieved mainly from the Ministry of Public Health online site and the local news, the existing targeted campaign should be enforced toward encouraging vaccination to reach herd immunity against COVID-19 and revealing the safety of the vaccines.

Keywords

attitudeCOVID-19Lebanonvaccinationwillingness
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e421
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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Footnotes

First coauthors SD and FH contributed equally to this work.

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