Factors Associated with Intention to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Among HIV Positive Patients Attending ART Clinic in Southwest Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: By the end of 2021, Ethiopia plans to vaccinate 20% of the population. The prioritized group includes people older than 65 years, health care workers, teachers, soldiers, and people living with comorbid diseases, including HIV/AIDS. However, due to a lack of intention and other reasons, only less than one percent of the population has taken COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the determinant factors of intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among HIV-positive patients attending ART clinics in southern Ethiopia. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 398 HIV-positive patients from March 1 to April 28, 2021. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire by three midwives. We entered the data into Epi InfoTM 3.5.1. Binary logistic regression was used to identify independently associated variables in bivariate and multivariate analyses using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Currently, the intention to take COVID-19 vaccine among HIV-positive patients was 33.7%. The probability of PLWHA to take COVID-19 vaccine was two (AOR = 2 (1.08–3.44)) times higher among those who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases (exclude HIV) with those with not been diagnosed. PLWHA who were male in sex were five (AOR = 5 (2.96–8.68)) times more likely to take COVID-19 vaccine than female. The study also indicated that the odds of intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine were 4.1 times (AOR = 4.1 (2.33–7.31)) times higher among those participants who had good knowledge of COVID-19 practice compared with those who had poor knowledge. CONCLUSION: The overall intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among PLWHA is low. Therefore, there is a need to improve the intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among HIV-positive patients to achieve the 2021 goal of Ethiopia for 20% of the population vaccination. Patients with chronic illness, knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine, and sex were factors associated with the intention to receive COVID-19 vaccine.