EC Clinical and Medical Case Reports

Objectives: To assist health authorities in increasing the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine and feature booster doses in the adult population of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This online cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2023 and April 2024 among adults of both sexes in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through a web-based questionnaire using Microsoft Forms, which was available in Arabic, with the option of completing it in English. The questionnaire assessed the implications of vaccine acceptance. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS.

Results: Most respondents were female (59.8%) and the majority of them aged < 50 years. Of all respondents, 87.1% considered COVID-19 vaccination effective for preventing and controlling COVID-19, 45.7% strongly agreed that COVID-19 vaccine might have side effects such as fever, and the remaining either agreed or strongly disagreed. Safety (42.3%) and efficacy (35.1%) of the vaccine played major roles in the decision to whether take the COVID-19 vaccine. The main reasons for accepting COVID-19 vaccination were self-protection to avoid sickness and protection of close relatives for 73.4% and 57.5% of the respondents, respectively.

Conclusion: The Saudi population has good awareness and attitude toward Covid-19 vaccination administration, and one of the main factors influencing the decision to take the vaccine was the history of previous flow vaccination. The main reasons for the participants’ refusal to vaccinate or hesitation were concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

 Keywords: Awareness; Barriers; Perceptions; SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine

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