Evaluation of Conspiracy Beliefs, Vaccine Hesitancy, and Willingness to Pay towards COVID-19 Vaccines in Six Countries from Asian and African Regions: A Large Multinational Analysis
Muhammad Salman,
Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi,
Nida Tanveer,
Naureen Shehzadi,
Humaira Majeed Khan,
Zia Ul Mustafa,
Tahir Mehmood Khan,
Khalid Hussain,
Malik Suliman Mohamed,
Faheem Maqbool,
Raja Ahsan Aftab,
Muhammad Hammad Butt,
Dibya Sundar Panda,
Nasser Hadal Alotaibi,
Amgad I. M. Khedr,
Abdullah Salah Alanazi,
Ahmed D. Alatawi,
Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alzarea,
Kishwar Sulatana,
Yusra Habib Khan
Affiliations
Muhammad Salman
Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Allied Health Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Nida Tanveer
Institute of Molecular Cardiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
Naureen Shehzadi
College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Humaira Majeed Khan
Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Allied Health Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Zia Ul Mustafa
Department of Pharmacy Services, District Headquarter Hospital, Pakpattan 57400, Pakistan
Tahir Mehmood Khan
Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Khalid Hussain
College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Malik Suliman Mohamed
Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Faheem Maqbool
School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia
Raja Ahsan Aftab
School of Pharmacy, Taylor’s University, Selangor 47500, Malaysia
Muhammad Hammad Butt
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden
Dibya Sundar Panda
Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Nasser Hadal Alotaibi
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Amgad I. M. Khedr
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of pharmacy, Port Said University, Port Said 42526, Egypt
Abdullah Salah Alanazi
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed D. Alatawi
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alzarea
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Kishwar Sulatana
Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Lahore, 1 km Defense Road, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Yusra Habib Khan
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Al-Jouf Province, Saudi Arabia
Vaccination protects people from serious illness and associated complications. Conspiracy theories and misinformation on vaccines have been rampant during the COVID-19 pandemic and are considered significant drivers of vaccine hesitancy. Since vaccine hesitancy can undermine efforts to immunize the population against COVID-19 and interferes with the vaccination rate, this study aimed to ascertain the COVID-19-vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs, vaccine hesitancy, views regarding vaccine mandates, and willingness to pay for vaccines among the general population. A web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted (April–August 2021) among the adult population in six countries (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India, Malaysia, Sudan, and Egypt). Participants were recruited using an exponential, non-discriminate snowball sampling method. A validated self-completed electronic questionnaire was used for the data collection. All the participants responded to questions on various domains of the study instrument, including conspiracy beliefs, vaccine hesitancy, and willingness to pay. The responses were scored according to predefined criteria and stratified into various groups. All data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22. A total of 2481 responses were included in the study (Pakistan 24.1%, Saudi Arabia 19.5%, India 11.6%, Malaysia 8.1%, Sudan 19.3%, and Egypt 17.3%). There was a preponderance of participants ≤40 years old (18–25 years: 55.8%, 26–40 years: 28.5%) and females (57.1%). The average score of the COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy belief scale (C19V-CBS) was 2.30 ± 2.12 (median 2; range 0–7). Our analysis showed that 30% of the respondents were found to achieve the ideal score of zero, indicating no conspiracy belief. The mean score of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy scale (C19V-HS) was 25.93 ± 8.11 (range: 10–50). The majority (45.7%) had C19V-HA scores of 21–30 and nearly 28% achieved a score greater than 30, indicating a higher degree of hesitancy. There was a significant positive correlation between conspiracy beliefs and vaccine hesitancy (Spearman’s rho = 0.547, p p < 0.001) lower scores on the C19V-CBS and C19V-HS scale. Nearly 52% reported that they would only take vaccine if it were free, and only 24% were willing to pay for COVID-19 vaccines. A high prevalence of conspiracy beliefs and vaccine hesitancy was observed in the targeted countries. Our findings highlight the dire need for aggressive measures to counter the conspiracy beliefs and factors underlying this vaccine hesitancy.
