COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a mixed-method study

OBJECTIVE: Data on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is limited in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and its associated factors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. DESIGN: A community-based concurrent mixed-method study. SETTING: In a community setting. PARTICIPANTS: Adult residents (n=422) of Akaki Kality subcity who were recruited by a two stage sampling technique and 24 adults who were selected purposively were included for the quantitative and qualitative part of the study respectively. OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were collected by face-to-face interview using a semistructured questionnaire. Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were identified by multivariable binary logistic regression model. RESULTS: One out five (19.1%, 95% CI 15.3% to 24.6%) participants were not willing to get vaccinated. In the multivariable analysis, vaccine hesitancy was significantly associated with being female (aOR=1.97; 95% CI 1.10 to 3.89), having negative attitude towards COVID-19 and its preventive measures (aOR=1.75; 95% CI 1.08 to 3.02), and primary information source being social media (internet) (aOR=3.59; 95% CI 1.75 to 7.37). Study participants have predominantly stated that they did not have enough information about the vaccine, feared it would not be effective or have too many side effects, and reflected their uncertainty towards the quality of the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable proportion of the people in Addis Ababa have concerns on COVID-19 vaccines and unwilling to accept them. This was due to the misconceptions, negative attitudes and use of social media as their primary source of information. Providing the community with health education and consistent efforts to enhance the prevention measures are important, particularly using different medias including social media.