Knowledge, Attitudes, and Concerns Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination Among Unvaccinated Elderly People in the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Background: Vaccination is the best weapon to prevent any disease, especially pandemics like COVID-19, and building herd immunity is the best way to control the disease's spread. On one side, vaccine availability is important, and on the other, its successful distribution is faced with difficulty in a wide geographical area. Availability and distribution go hand in hand, which is the public health challenge. Vaccines are taking over, clearing up concerns about vaccination and making the public ready. The high-risk public should receive vaccines without resistance, which is of utmost importance. Unvaccinated older adults are at higher risk for COVID-19 infection, morbidity, and mortality. The reasons why older people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 do not want to receive vaccines when they are available include a lack of knowledge about COVID-19 vaccination and listening to incorrect sources of information. With this background, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and concerns of unvaccinated older adults in the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was planned to find out the knowledge and attitudes of the elderly in the Assir Region, Saudi Arabia. A total of 434 unvaccinated elderly persons were recruited randomly from the list of elderly (>60 years) who were unvaccinated. The data was gathered using a structured interview schedule in Arabic. Results: Out of 434 participants, more than half (54.8%) were male. Most of the participants were Saudi citizens (91.5%). Of the participants, nearly one-fifth (19.8%) of them had a previous history of COVID-19 infection. The participants' main sources of information about vaccination against COVID-19 were the mass media (41.9%), followed by word of mouth from friends, families, or neighbors (41.7%), and social media (16.4%). More than three-fourths of them (85.7%) had poor knowledge regarding the COVID-19 vaccination. The participants’ poor knowledge grades were mainly among those aged >80 years, illiterate, unemployed participants, and current smokers. Those participants relying on social media had the highest number of concerns (6.663.21) regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Conclusions: Most participants have poor knowledge, and their knowledge of COVID-19 vaccination is limited. Participants whose main source of knowledge is the mass media need to intensify their education activities in the mass media. Social media, whose primary source of information is social media, has the greatest number of issues that require immediate attention. Social media content must be scanned, and misinformation needs to be addressed.