COVID-19 Vaccination Readiness and Hesitancy among the Patients with Chronic Diseases in a Teaching Hospital in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Vaccination has been a great strategy used by public health experts to control the spread of deadly diseases such as COVID-19, although this effort is usually threatened by vaccine hesitancy.

The study assessed vaccine hesitancy among people with chronic diseases in Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti.

The research design was descriptive and cross-sectional. One hundred and ninety-three (193) participants who were purposively selected from four different chronic clinics in the hospital participated in the study. Socio-demographic data and vaccine knowledge were determined using a standardized questionnaire, while the readiness and hesitancy levels with responsible factors were determined using an adapted questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings showed that the majority of the participants were female and between the ages of 21-40 years. About half (43.8%) of the participants had poor knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine. Age (X²= 17.255, p=0.028) and length of disease (X²= 13.917, p=0.031) were observed to be significantly associated with the participants' knowledge level of the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination. Participants were hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccine due to historical influence (35.6%), politics (43.1%) and roles of health professionals (50.8%).

High-level advocacy about vaccines (especially new ones, such as COVID-19 vaccine) and its benefits should be encouraged at all levels so as to improve acceptance and minimize vaccination hesitancy among the populace thereby promoting public health.