PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE COVID-19 VACCINE IN DISTRICT PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The study reveals a basic understanding of the attitudes and knowledge of the District Peshawar population about the COVID-19 vaccine. Mixed vaccination responses according to the results emerged with a significant gender distribution showing that the female population (55.3%) constituted a majority with males making up 44.7% during the survey. Among the respondents, most of the subjects are single and mostly students 86.0%. General vaccination practice was reported as follows: 59.0% of the respondents reported that they were vaccinated, whereas 28.7% reported not being vaccinated, and 12.3% of the respondents were not sure. That reflects a rather large proportion of the population as either vaccine-hesitant or uninformed of the importance of vaccines. Still, knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine was good at 79.3%, and 57.0% of the respondents were of an opinion on whether such a vaccine is effective. This may indicate a knowledge gap related to vaccine benefits. Social media was the most important influence at 74.3% and markedly greater than the influence of mass media and family/friends. While an important factor, social media influence can lead to misinformation, as evidenced by 49.0% who believed that it was possible to overdose on vaccines and 39.0% who believed that vaccines could cause an allergic reaction. Regarding vaccine safety, 42.7% agreed that it is safe but 44.7% are unsure-probably due to the reason for hesitance, whereas 55.3% showed reluctance to vaccinate. However, the need to vaccinate was felt by 66.0%, which is similar to the encouragement to vaccinate (63.7%). A vast majority of participants, that is 73.3%, agreed that they were waiting for more information before deciding on vaccination, which reflects an uncertainty regarding vaccine rollout and long-term effects. In addition, 30.7 percent of the respondents viewed vaccination as population control, and therefore, a public awareness campaign is needed to eradicate the misconceptions surrounding it. The findings revealed concerns about unequal vaccine distribution, but a large majority of the respondents believed that "the distribution should be fair," 68.0 percent, which could be an expression of perceptions about the unequal availability of vaccines in urban and rural settings.