Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Low vaccine uptake has the potential to seriously undermine COVID-19 vaccination programs, as very high coverage levels are likely to be needed for virus suppression to return life to normal. We aimed to determine the influence of vaccine attributes (including access costs) on COVID-19 vaccination preferences among the Malaysian public to improve national uptake.Methods
An online Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was conducted on a representative sample of 2028 Malaysians. Respondents were asked to make vaccination decisions in a series of hypothetical scenarios. A nested, mixed logit model was used to estimate the preferences for vaccination over vaccine refusal and for how those preferences varied between different sub-populations. The attributes were the risk of developing severe side effects of the vaccine, vaccine effectiveness, vaccine content, vaccination schedule, and distance from home to vaccination centre.Findings
Reported public uptake of COVID-19 vaccination was primarily influenced by the risk of developing severe side effects (b = -1·747, 95% CI = -2·269, -1·225), vaccine effectiveness (b = 3·061, 95% CI = 2·628, 3·494) and its Halal status (b = 3·722, 95% CI = 3·152, 4·292). Other factors such as appointment timing and travel distance to the vaccination centre also had an effect on vaccine uptake. There was substantial heterogeneity in preferences between different populations, particularly for age groups, ethnicity, regions, and underlying health conditions.Interpretation
Perceived effectiveness and side effects are likely to affect COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Malaysia. Halal content is critical to Malays' vaccination choices. Reducing the physical distance to vaccination centres, particularly in rural areas where uptake is lower, is likely to improve uptake.Funding
Ministry of Health Research Grant from the Malaysian government [NIH/800-3/2/1 Jld.7(46), grant reference no: 57377 and warrant no: 91000776].
SUBMITTER: Teh HS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9359905 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Teh Hoon Shien HS Woon Yuan Liang YL Leong Chin Tho CT Hing Nicholas Yee Liang NYL Mien Teresa Yong Sui TYS Roope Laurence S J LSJ Clarke Philip M PM Lim Lee-Ling LL Buckell John J
The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific 20220809
<h4>Background</h4>Low vaccine uptake has the potential to seriously undermine COVID-19 vaccination programs, as very high coverage levels are likely to be needed for virus suppression to return life to normal. We aimed to determine the influence of vaccine attributes (including access costs) on COVID-19 vaccination preferences among the Malaysian public to improve national uptake.<h4>Methods</h4>An online Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) was conducted on a representative sample of 2028 Malaysia ...[more]