A high rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a large-scale survey on Arabs
- Jerash University, Jordan
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Jordan
- King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan
Abstract
Background: Vaccine hesitancy can limit the benefits of available vaccines in halting the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Previously published studies paid little attention to Arab countries, which has a population of over 440 million. In this study, we present the results of the first large-scale multinational study that measures vaccine hesitancy among Arab-speaking subjects.
Methods: An online survey in Arabic was conducted from 14-Jan-2021 to 29-Jan-2021. It consisted of 17 questions capturing demographic data, acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine, attitudes towards the need for COVID-19 vaccination and associated health policies, and reasons for vaccination hesitancy. R software- v.4.0.2 was used for data analysis and visualization.
Results: The survey recruited 36,220 eligible participants (61.1% males, 38.9% females, mean age 32.6±10.8 years) from all the 23 Arab countries and territories (83.4%) and 122 other countries (16.6%). Our analysis shows a significant rate of vaccine hesitancy among Arabs in and outside the Arab region (83% and 81%, respectively). The most cited reasons for hesitancy are concerns about side effects and distrust in healthcare policies, vaccine expedited production, published studies and vaccine producing companies. We also found that female participants, participants 30-59 year-old, those with no chronic diseases, those with lower-level of academic education, and those who do not know the type of vaccine authorized in their countries are more hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccination. On the other hand, participants who regularly receive the influenza vaccine, health care workers, and those from countries with higher rates of COVID-19 infections showed more vaccination willingness. Interactive representation of our results is posted on our project website at https://mainapp.shinyapps.io/CVHAA.
Conclusion: Our results show higher vaccine hesitancy and refusal among Arab subjects, related mainly to distrust and concerns about side effects. Health authorities and Arab scientific community have to transparently address these concerns to improve vaccine acceptance.
Funding: This study received no funding.
Data availability
All data are available at our study website: https://mainapp.shinyapps.io/CVHAA. All the project's data and code has been deposited on Github. E. Qunaibi (2021) COVID-Vaccine-Arab-Survey. GitHub. https://github.com/MoHelmy/COVID-Vaccine-Arab-Survey. 5d1a881
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
The authors declare that there was no funding for this work.
Reviewing Editor
- Margaret Stanley, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Ethics
Human subjects: This study was approved by the institutional review board (IRB) at King Hussein Cancer center (Approval No. 21 KHCC 0.34).
Version history
- Received: March 3, 2021
- Accepted: May 18, 2021
- Accepted Manuscript published: May 27, 2021 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: June 15, 2021 (version 2)
- Version of Record updated: December 7, 2021 (version 3)
Copyright
© 2021, Qunaibi et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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A high rate of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a large-scale survey on Arabs
eLife 10:e68038.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68038
Further reading
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- Epidemiology and Global Health
Paxlovid, a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral, not only prevents severe illness but also curtails viral shedding, lowering transmission risks from treated patients. By fitting a mathematical model of within-host Omicron viral dynamics to electronic health records data from 208 hospitalized patients in Hong Kong, we estimate that Paxlovid can inhibit over 90% of viral replication. However, its effectiveness critically depends on the timing of treatment. If treatment is initiated three days after symptoms first appear, we estimate a 17% chance of a post-treatment viral rebound and a 12% (95% CI: 0%-16%) reduction in overall infectiousness for non-rebound cases. Earlier treatment significantly elevates the risk of rebound without further reducing infectiousness, whereas starting beyond five days reduces its efficacy in curbing peak viral shedding. Among the 104 patients who received Paxlovid, 62% began treatment within an optimal three-to-five-day day window after symptoms appeared. Our findings indicate that broader global access to Paxlovid, coupled with appropriately timed treatment, can mitigate the severity and transmission of SARS-Cov-2.
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- Epidemiology and Global Health
Background:
Circulating omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been associated with various chronic diseases and mortality, but results are conflicting. Few studies examined the role of omega-6/omega-3 ratio in mortality.
Methods:
We investigated plasma omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs and their ratio in relation to all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a large prospective cohort, the UK Biobank. Of 85,425 participants who had complete information on circulating PUFAs, 6461 died during follow-up, including 2794 from cancer and 1668 from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Associations were estimated by multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression with adjustment for relevant risk factors.
Results:
Risk for all three mortality outcomes increased as the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 PUFAs increased (all Ptrend <0.05). Comparing the highest to the lowest quintiles, individuals had 26% (95% CI, 15–38%) higher total mortality, 14% (95% CI, 0–31%) higher cancer mortality, and 31% (95% CI, 10–55%) higher CVD mortality. Moreover, omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs in plasma were all inversely associated with all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality, with omega-3 showing stronger effects.
Conclusions:
Using a population-based cohort in UK Biobank, our study revealed a strong association between the ratio of circulating omega-6/omega-3 PUFAs and the risk of all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality.
Funding:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institute of Health under the award number R35GM143060 (KY). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
