RESEARCH ARTICLE
Perception and Knowledge of Adults Toward the Newly Evoked Variant Omicron: A Web-based National Survey from Jordan
Mariam Alameri1, *, Lobna Gharaibeh2, Raya Alrashdan3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2023Volume: 16
E-location ID: e187494452304050
Publisher ID: e187494452304050
DOI: 10.2174/18749445-v16-e230505-2022-236
Article History:
Received Date: 29/12/2022Revision Received Date: 16/02/2023
Acceptance Date: 06/03/2023
Electronic publication date: 26/05/2023
Collection year: 2023
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
Omicron B.1.1.529 possesses the highest number of mutations among all SARSCoV-2 variants. The Omicron variant spread quickly and became globally dominant; the currently available COVID-19 vaccines provided less immunity to the Omicron variant.
Objectives:
This study aimed to explore Jordanians' knowledge and perceptions about the omicron variant and the role of vaccines in protection.
Methodology:
The questionnaire was created using Google Forms and was distributed online via different social media platforms. Participants were recruited through a convenient sampling method and snowball distribution of the questionnaire. Inclusion criteria: being an adult and living in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Results:
A total of 708 participants responded and filled out the questionnaire with an average age of 39.87 ± 11.09. Less than half of the participants were infected with the coronavirus. Most of the participants were infected only once (238, 78.8%) and mostly with the original strain of the coronavirus. Almost all the participants were vaccinated (661, 93.4%); the majority received two doses (504, 76.3%), followed by three doses (142, 21.5%), and only fifteen participants (2.4%) received one dose of vaccine. Pfizer-BioNTech was the most frequently used type of vaccine. In the multivariate analysis, predictors of a higher knowledge score were education levels (only in postgraduate degree compared to high school or lower education), monthly income higher than 400, presence of comorbidities, and vaccination.
Conclusion:
As the Omicron variant spreads rapidly, educational programs and interventions are needed to improve public knowledge and perceptions, especially for those with low educational levels and monthly income.
