Attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination among the public in Kerala: A cross sectional study

CONTEXT: As COVID-19 spread across the world, vaccines were developed to fight against the spread of the new disease. Negative attitude and unwillingness to vaccinate when available may be a major hurdle in attaining effective vaccination coverage. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine and identify the predictors of negative attitudes towards the vaccine and identify groups most at risk of uncertainty and unwillingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: General public of Kerala, cross-sectional survey. METHODS AND MATERIAL: The study was conducted in Kerala during the period from 16 January 2021 to 22 February 2021. An online semi-structured questionnaire was sent via google forms with a consent form appended to it. Attitude towards vaccination was measured using a 20-item scale. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Collected data were analysed using SPSS software version 16. Ordinary least-squares (OLS) regressions were carried out to examine socio-demographic predictors of attitude towards vaccination. Multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to examine associations of socio-demographic with uncertainty and disagree to vaccinate against COVID-19. RESULTS: In this study, 1345 subjects participated. Mean attitude score was 48.68 with SD 13.55. Most of the study subjects were agreeable to take the vaccine once it is available (88.8%). Religion, occupation, and monthly income were found to be the predictors of attitude towards vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: The willingness for vaccine uptake was found to be high in our study. However, other aspects such as doubt regarding its safety, effectiveness and duration of protection are considerable and need to be addressed.