Extent to which people perceive and accept COVID-19 vaccines in north central Vietnam

Abstract

To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, the willingness of residents to get vaccinated and successful vaccination policies go hand in hand. This paper aims to understand the perceptions, acceptance, hesitation, and refusal of COVID-19 vaccines in Nghe An, Vietnam. The authors used an online survey to collect data during March of 2021. The Bayesian regression model (BRM) was used to identify the factors affecting vaccination decisions. The empirical results show that respondents’ livelihoods were considerably affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was a subtle difference in COVID-19 impacts on the lives of urban residents and their rural counterparts. In addition, respondents reported an overall positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination in which 84.28% were willing to get vaccinated, 14.85% were hesitant, and 0.87% refused vaccination. Their vaccination decisions were associated with vaccine side effects, information, income, job type, gender, and trust in government. Our findings offer policy implications for devising strategies for vaccine distribution in the study area and beyond.