COVID-19 Vaccination and Related Determinants of Hesitancy among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Mass vaccination against COVID-19 is necessary to control the pandemic. COVID-19 vaccines are now recommended during pregnancy to prevent the disease. A systematic review of the literature in the electronic databases PubMed and EMBASE was performed and we aimed to investigate the attitude of documents towards COVID-19 vaccination and the prognostic factors of vaccination hesitation. A meta-analysis was also conducted to estimate the overall percentage of pregnant women who were willing to be vaccinated or had been vaccinated against COVID-19. A total of 18 studies were included in the review and meta-analysis. The acceptance rate of vaccination against COVID-19 among pregnant women ranged from 17.6% to 84.5%. The pooled proportion of acceptance of vaccination against COVID-19 in pregnant women was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.44–0.61). Predictors of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination were older age, White race, occupational status, higher level of education, comorbidities, third trimester of pregnancy, influenza vaccination, knowledge about COVID-19, and confidence that vaccines for COVID-19 are safe and effective. The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women is low. Targeted information campaigns are needed to increase vaccine education in this population.