What is the extent of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Bangladesh? A cross-sectional rapid national survey.

Objectives: To assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Bangladesh and identify population subgroups with higher odds of vaccine hesitancy.

Design: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was used for this study. Descriptive analyses helped to compute vaccine hesitancy proportions and compare them across groups. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to compute the adjusted OR.

Setting: Bangladesh.

Participants: A total of 1134 participants from the general population, aged 18 years and above participated in this study.

Outcome Measures: Prevalence and predictors of vaccine hesitancy.

Results: Of the total participants, 32.5% showed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Hesitancy was high among respondents who were men, over 60, unemployed, from low-income families, from central Bangladesh, including Dhaka, living in rented houses, tobacco users, politically affiliated, doubtful of the vaccine's efficacy for Bangladeshis and those who did not have any physical illnesses in the past year. In the multiple logistic regression models, transgender respondents (adjusted OR, AOR=3.62), married individuals (AOR=1.49), tobacco users (AOR=1.33), those who had not experienced any physical illnesses in the past year (AOR=1.49), those with political affiliations with opposition parties (AOR=1.48), those who believed COVID-19 vaccines would not be effective for Bangladeshis (AOR=3.20), and those who were slightly concerned (AOR=2.87) or not concerned at all (AOR=7.45) about themselves or a family member getting infected with COVID-19 in the next year were significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, in order to guarantee that COVID-19 vaccinations are widely distributed, the government and public health experts must be prepared to handle vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine awareness among potential recipients. To address these issues and support COVID-19 immunisation programs, evidence-based educational and policy-level initiatives must be undertaken especially for the poor, older and chronically diseased individuals.