Assessment of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its associated factors in Debre Berhan City, Ethiopia, 2022.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has spread over the world. The ability to achieve sufficient immunization coverage to end the global pandemic depends on the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, but it has faced a major challenge around the world. In low-income and developing countries, 22.7% of the population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which means that a large percentage of the population are unvaccinated, even though they have access to the Covid-19 vaccine so many countries do not accept the vaccine. The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and its associated factors in Debre Berhan City, Ethiopia, 2022.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach comprising both qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey was used among participants in Debre Berhan City. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to recruit the study participants. An in-depth interview was used for the qualitative data. Data was collected by a face-to-face interview questionnaire from June 08 to July 08, 2022. The collected data was entered using Epi Data version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Variables with a p-value less than 0.25 at Bivariable logistic regression analysis were entered into multivariable logistic regression analysis. Logistics regression was employed, and a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Result: A total of 765 participants were included in the study, with a response rate of 97.08%. More than half (52.9%) of the respondents had the willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants who had Contact with COVID-19 patient (AOR = 3.98; 95% CI: (1.30-12.14), having good knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine (AOR = 4.63; 95% CI: (1.84-11.63), and positive attitude toward the COVID-19 vaccine (AOR = 3.41; 95% CI: (1.34-8.69) were statistically significantly associated variables with COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Conclusion And Recommendation: The present study revealed that the acceptance COVID-19 vaccine was 52.9, and a significant proportion of participants were hesitant to receive the vaccine and refused to get vaccinated. Significantly associated Variables for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were Contact with COVID-19 patient, having good knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine, and having a positive attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine. Various stakeholders to apprise the public about the cause of the disease and the scientific development of vaccine in order to enhance acceptance of the vaccine.