Analysis of People’s Attitude Toward COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Information Sources in Thailand

COVID-19 vaccination status in people with spinal cord injury: Results from a cross-sectional study in Thailand

OBJECTIVE

To assess COVID-19 vaccination status among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Twelve hospitals from all regions of Thailand.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred and eighty people with SCI were randomly selected from the Thai SCI registry database.

INTERVENTION

Not applicable.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome, which was the COVID-19 vaccination status, and the secondary outcomes, which were the number of vaccination doses, satisfaction and dissatisfaction aspects, and barriers to vaccination, were recorded using a specifically developed questionnaire over the telephone during February to March 2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive analyses, bivariate, and multivariable analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 96 people with SCI who were able to respond, the prevalence of receiving at least one dose was 77% but the prevalence of receiving a booster dose was 20%. Being non-traumatic SCI correlated negatively with having received any vaccination doses when compared to traumatic SCI. Most of the participants were satisfied with the government provision of COVID-19 vaccines. The major barriers to vaccination were problems related to a negative attitude toward the vaccination, followed by transportation difficulties and wheelchair-inaccessible vaccination sites.

CONCLUSIONS

Seventy-seven percent of people with SCI participating in this study received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, whereas only 20% of them received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. To increase the prevalence of vaccination, healthcare providers should deliver the fact regarding COVID-19 vaccination to reduce negative attitudes, as well as remove physical barriers to vaccination places for people with SCI.

Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Uptake in Bangkok, Thailand: Cross-Sectional Survey via Social Media

BACKGROUND

The third, most severe COVID-19 wave in mid-2021 coincided with dual challenges of limited vaccine supply and lagging acceptance in Bangkok, Thailand. Understanding of persistent vaccine hesitancy during the "608" campaign to vaccinate the over 60 years and eight medical risk groups was needed. On-the ground surveys place further demands on resources and are scale-limited. We leveraged the University of Maryland COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey (UMD-CTIS) - a digital health survey conducted among daily Facebook user samples - in this this densely populated, high-transmission region with high Facebook social media use to fill this need and inform regional vaccine roll-out policy.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to characterize COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, frequent reasons for hesitancy, mitigating risk behaviors, and most trusted sources of COVID-19 information through which to combat vaccine hesitancy in Bangkok, Thailand during the "608" vaccine campaign.

METHODS

UMD-CTIS is an online, cross-sectional survey conducted among daily, statistical samples of the Facebook active user base. We analyzed 34,423 Bangkok UMD-CTIS surveys conducted June-October 2021 coinciding with the third COVID-19 wave. Sampling consistency and representativeness of the UMD-CTIS respondents were evaluated by comparing distributions of demographics, 608 priority groups, and vaccine uptake over time with source population benchmark data. Estimates of vaccine hesitancy in Bangkok and 608 priority groups were tracked over time. Frequently cited hesitancy reasons and trusted information sources were identified by 608 group and degree of hesitancy. Kendall's Tau was used to test statistical associations between vaccine acceptance and vaccine hesitancy.

RESULTS

UMD-CTIS Bangkok respondents had similar demographics over weekly samples and compared to the Bangkok source population. Respondents self-reported fewer pre-existing health conditions such as chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease compared to census but had similar prevalence of the important COVID-19 risk factor diabetes. UMD-CTIS vaccine uptake rose in parallel with national vaccination statistics, while vaccine hesitancy and degree of hesitancy declined [-7% hesitant per week]. Concerns about vaccination side effects (63%) and wanting to wait and see (62%) were selected most frequently, while "not liking vaccines" (7%) and "religious objections'' (1%" least so, regardless of risk group, time period, or level of vaccine acceptance. Greater vaccine acceptance was associated positively with wanting to "Wait and See'' and negatively with "Don't Believe I Need [the vaccine]" (Kendall's Tau 0.21 and -0.22, respectively, adjusted P values <0.001). Scientists and health experts were most frequently cited as trusted COVID-19 information sources (97%), even within the "Probably Not" and "Definitely Not" groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide policy and health experts with evidence that vaccine hesitancy was declining, albeit slowly, over the study timeframe. Hesitancy and trust analyses among the unvaccinated support Bangkok policy measures to address vaccine safety and efficacy concerns through health experts, rather than government or religious officials. Large-scale surveys enabled by existing, widespread digital networks, offer an insightful, minimal-infrastructure resource for informing region-specific health policy needs.

CLINICALTRIAL

COVID-19 Vaccination Willingness in Four Asian Countries: A Comparative Study including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam

Globally, 67% of the population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, but coverage varies across countries. This study aimed to compare people's willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination across Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, where vaccination intention tends to be high, to determine factors associated with willingness, and to obtain suggestions for developing strategies. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the Japan International Cooperation Agency survey "Building Resilience: COVID-19 Impact and Responses in Urban Areas-Case of Southeast Asia," including1842 unvaccinated participants from Thailand (n = 461), Indonesia (n = 246), the Philippines (n = 609), and Vietnam (n = 526). Vaccination willingness was high in all countries (69.6%), but the social and psychological factors motivating people to undergo vaccination differed among these countries. The highest vaccination willingness was in the Philippines, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia, whereas the lowest vaccination willingness was in Thailand. Vaccination willingness was affected by not only sociodemographic attributes, but also risk perception and beliefs, which, in turn, were shaped by social factors such as infection trends and vaccine policies. To achieve effective vaccination promotion programs, a system allowing the flexible modification of promotion methods in response to social conditions must be established.

The Relationship between Sources of COVID-19 Vaccine Information and Willingness to Be Vaccinated: An Internet-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

Despite considerable interest in the Japanese population in receiving the vaccine for COVID-19 when it first became available, a sizable percentage of people remain unwilling or hesitant to be vaccinated. Concerns among both the vaccinated and the unwilling center on the vaccine’s efficacy and its safety. Thus, this study aimed to identify whether the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination is related to the sources of information people use to learn about the vaccine. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 800 participants registered in an Internet research panel across Japan who completed a questionnaire on their sources of information about the vaccine, demographics, and vaccination status. Vaccine willingness/hesitancy and refusal were set as dependent variables in the logistic regression analysis, with sources of vaccine information and other socio-demographic variables set as independent variables. The results of the analysis found that the information sources significantly associated with willingness to vaccinate were TV (AOR 2.44 vs. vaccine refusal/hesitation), summary websites of COVID-19 by non-experts (AOR 0.21, vs. vaccine refusal/hesitation), Internet video sites (AOR 0.33, vs. vaccine refusal/hesitation), and the personal websites of doctors (AOR 0.16, vs. vaccine refusal/hesitation). Given the likelihood of misinformation in non-traditional sources of information, it is important that health communications be accurate and persuasive.

Benefits of Inactivated Vaccine and Viral Vector Vaccine Immunization on COVID-19 Infection in Kidney Transplant Recipients

The coronavirus virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the global healthcare system. In Thailand, the first and most available vaccines were inactivated and viral vector vaccines. We reported the impact of those vaccines in preventing severe disease and death in kidney transplant recipients. This retrospective study comprised 45 kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 infection, classified by vaccination status. Outcomes of interest were death, pneumonia, and allograft dysfunction. There were 23 patients in vaccinated group and 22 patients in unvaccinated group. All baseline characteristics were similar except mean age was older in vaccinated group, 55 vs. 48 years. Total 11 patients (24%) died (13% vaccinated vs. 36% unvaccinated RR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.29–0.83; p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis showed that vaccination significantly decrease mortality (odds ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.10–0.94; p = 0.03). Pneumonia developed equally in both groups (70%). There was a trend toward less oxygen requirement as well as ventilator requirement in vaccinated group. The rate of allograft dysfunction was similar (47%). Inactivated and viral vector COVID-19 vaccines have beneficial effect on mortality reduction in kidney transplant recipients. Even partial vaccination can exert some protection against death. However, full vaccination should be encouraged to achieve better prevention.