To Concern or Not to Concern: Analyses of Perception and Attitudes toward COVID Vaccine’s Side Effect among the Philippines and Malaysians (Preprint)

Abstract

In the long wait for a vaccine against COVID-19, several pharmaceutical companies developed highly effective and safe vaccines. However, how people are reacting to the significance and usage of those vaccines is another pertinent issue?

This study explores the perceptions and attitudes towards the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its potential side effects among people in the Philippines and Malaysia.

A total of 4114 participants from the Philippines (n=1002) and Malaysia (n=1556) were recruited for this study. Bivariate and multivariate analysis techniques have been used. In descriptive analyses, the Chi-square test was used to compute absolute frequency and relative frequency (percentages) across the two countries. Three different adjusted models were employed to run ordered logistic regression.

The majority (over 60%) of participants rated all the COVID vaccine-related information as important in both countries. Vaccine acceptance was lower in Philippines as compared to Malaysia as only two-fifths (43.41%) of the Philippines’ respondents stated that everyone should get vaccinated in comparison to almost three-fourths (77.06%) of respondents in Malaysia. Respondents were two times [OR: 2.17; CI: 2.06-2.29] more likely to report that vaccine is safe to use. The odds of people believing that a vaccine can help control the spread of COVID-19 were almost two times higher [OR: 1.90; CI: 1.82-1.99] than the belief that the COVID-19 vaccine cannot help in controlling the spread of COVID-19. The importance of vaccine for health was lower among employed respondents [OR:0.83; CI:0.72-0.94] than in the respondents who were not employed. After controlling all the confounder factors, the odds of concern that the vaccine could cause serious reactions were higher [OR: 1.57; CI:1.48-1.67] among respondents.

The adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures will need to be monitored closely as restrictive measures are being relaxed and as the expectations concerning the COVID-19 vaccine may decrease the motivation of people to adhere to prevention measures. With the advent of mass vaccination to quell the COVID-19 pandemic, the distribution of strategically placed public health information regarding COVID-19 vaccination, delivered in locally customized and culturally appropriate language.