Abstract

MOHAMED, Rahma et al. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and associated factors among people living with HIV in the Middle East and North Africa region. South. Afr. j. HIV med. (Online) [online]. 2022, vol.23, n.1, pp.1-9. ISSN 2078-6751.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v23i1.1391.

BACKGROUND: Identifying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance and associated factors among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Middle East and North Africa region is important to meet the need for broad-scale vaccination against COVID-19 OBJECTIVES: To investigate the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate and factors among PLHIV in the Middle East and North Africa region METHOD: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among PLHIV currently living in Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia between March 2021 and August 2021 RESULTS: Of the 540 respondents, 19.3% reported already being vaccinated against COVID-19 (n = 104), 32.0% responded 'definitely yes' (n = 173), and 13.3% responded 'probably yes' (n = 72) for intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, with an overall COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate of 64.6% among PLHIV in the region. The most significant predictors of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance included feeling less worried about COVID-19 transmission post-vaccination (221.0% higher odds), and believing the disease is vaccine-preventable (160.0% higher odds). Reported barriers to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance include concerns about vaccine effectiveness and belief that HIV medications protect against COVID-19 transmission, living in a rural area and reporting less-frequent engagement with HIV care. Nine out of 10 participants reported that the chances of them getting COVID-19 vaccine would increase if given adequate information and if their doctor recommended it CONCLUSION: Findings of the study can help researchers, health officials, and other health system actors understand the predictors and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance reported by PLHIV. This understanding could inform the future planning of interventions tailored to PLHIV

Keywords : COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccine; vaccine acceptance; Middle East; HIV.

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