Factors affecting the public’s knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines and the influence of knowledge on their decision to get vaccinated

OBJECTIVE: An analysis was conducted to assess the factors affecting the public’s knowledge about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and the influence of that knowledge on their decision to get vaccinated. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: An online, self-administered questionnaire was instrumentalized to assess the factors affecting the Jordanian public’s knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines and the influence of that knowledge on their decision to get vaccinated. A multiple linear regression analysis was carried out to determine the variables that affected the participants’ knowledge score regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to evaluate the differences in knowledge scores among different groups. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Only 45.9% of the 468 participants reported being willing to receive the vaccine, and only 38.5% (n = 180) had registered on the Ministry of Health platform to get vaccinated. Moreover, very few of them (26/468, 5.6%) had received the vaccine. The participants showed inadequate knowledge, with a median knowledge score of 4 out of 8 (interquartile range = 4). The linear regression analysis showed that participants aged above 45 years, those with bachelor’s or graduate degrees, and those with medical-related degrees had higher knowledge scores regarding COVID-19 vaccines than the others (P < 0.001). Participants who were willing to receive the vaccine, those who had registered to receive the vaccine, and those who had got vaccinated had higher knowledge scores than the others (P < 0.001 for all). CONCLUSION: This cross-sectional analysis indicated that urgent education is needed to improve the public’s knowledge and awareness about the COVID-19 vaccine to reduce the adverse impact of lack of knowledge on decision making for the COVID-19 vaccination.