Abstract

This study examined the association between COVID-19 and fear of contracting COVID-19 and reasons for vaccination refusal. A population-based online survey was conducted via social media in Nigeria using the Fear of COVID-19 scale and items related to vaccination refusal/hesitancy items. Individuals aged 13 years and older were invited to participate. Data were analysed using binary logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) at a p-value of less than 0.05. The study enrolled 577 individuals with a mean age of 31.86 years, 70% of whom were male and 27.7% of whom had received at least one dose of the vaccine against COVID-19. None of the variables on the Fear of COVID-19 scale significantly predicted vaccine uptake in multivariate analysis. However, individuals who were fearful of COVID-19 were more likely to be vaccinated in bivariate analysis (OR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.06–2.63). The most significant factors among the vaccination refusal items associated with COVID-19 vaccination were doubts about vaccination (adjusted OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.57–4.17) and misconceptions about vaccine safety/efficacy (adjusted OR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.24–3.71). These results suggest that uptake of the vaccine against COVID-19 in Nigeria can be predicted by factors associated with vaccination refusal, but not by fear of COVID-19. To contain the pandemic COVID-19 in Nigeria, efforts should be made to educate people about the efficacy of the vaccine and to increase their confidence in vaccination.

Rights

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Cite as

Chutiyami, M., Salihu, D., Bello, U., Winser, S., Gambo, A., Sabo, H., Kolo, M., Jalo, H., Muhammad, A., Mahmud, F., Adeleye, K., Azubuike, O., Bukola, I. & Kannan, P. 2022, 'Are fear of COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake? A population-based online survey in Nigeria', Vaccines, 10(8), article no: 1271. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081271

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Last updated: 18 May 2023
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