Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine and its determinants: evidence from a large sample study in Bangladesh

• Published in: Heliyon 2021-06, Vol.7 (6), p.e07376-e07376, Article e07376
• Main Authors: Akiful Haque, Miah Md, Rahman, Mohammad Lutfor, Hossian, Mosharop, Matin, Kazi Farhana, Nabi, Mohammad Hayatun, Saha, Shuvajit, Hasan, Mehedi, Manna, Ridwana Maher, Barsha, Sabrina Yesmin, Hasan, S.M.Rezwanul, Siddiquea, Saleka Raihana, Rahman, Mahfil Ara, Khan, Md Abdullah Saeed, Rashid, Md Utba, Hossain, Mohammad Ali, Hawlader, Mohammad Delwer Hossain
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptance; Bangladesh; COVID-19; Hesitancy; Vaccine
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07376

Our study aimed to understand the acceptance level of the COVID-19 vaccine and its determinants among the adult Bangladeshi population. This cross-sectional study was conducted in all eight divisions of Bangladesh. Data from 7,357 adult respondents were collected between January 17 and February 2, 2021, using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical software STATA (Version 16.1) was used for all analyses. The majority of study participants were from the Dhaka division (34.24%). The most common age group was ≤30 years (46.18%). Almost two-thirds of respondents were male (65.50%) and married (67.76%). A large portion (79.85%) of people who had positive vaccine intentions believed that vaccination should be made mandatory for everyone. The majority of the respondents thought that the vaccine would work against COVID-19 infection (67%). In the binary logistic regression analysis, participants who had the education level of graduation or above (AOR = 1.80), age ≥50 years (AOR = 1.97), students (AOR = 2.98), monthly income ≥41,000 BDT (AOR = 2.22), being resident of rural area (AOR = 2.24), respondents from Khulna division (AOR = 6.43) were more likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who had family members diagnosed with COVID-19 (AOR = 1.24), presence of chronic disease (AOR = 0.72), and those who were vaccinated in the last few years (AOR = 1.32) were also more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine. Most of the respondents were willing to be vaccinated based on the belief that the vaccine will work against COVID-19. As rumors are generating daily, there is a need for policy-level initiative and evidence-based mass media promotion to keep inspired the general Bangladeshi people to accept the COVID-19 vaccine whenever it will be available at the individual level. COVID-19; Vaccine; Acceptance; Hesitancy; Bangladesh.