tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Epidemiol
. 2022 Jan 29.
doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20210458. Online ahead of print.
The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination and vaccine hesitancy in pregnant women: an internet-based cross-sectional study in Japan
Yoshihiko Hosokawa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sumiyo Okawa[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ai Hori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Naho Morisaki[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yoko Takahashi[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Takeo Fujiwara[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Shoji F Nakayama[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Hiromi Hamada[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Toyomi Satoh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Takahiro Tabuchi[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Reluctance of people to receive recommended vaccines is a growing concern as distribution of vaccines is considered critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. There is little information regarding pregnant women's views toward coronavirus vaccination in Japan. Therefore, we investigated the vaccination rate and reasons for vaccination and vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women in Japan.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 1,791 pregnant women using data from the Japan "COVID-19 and Society" Internet Survey, conducted from July to August 2021, and valid response from 1,621 respondents were analyzed. We defined participants with vaccine hesitancy as those who identified with the statement "I do not want to be vaccinated" or "I want to 'wait and see' before getting vaccinated." Multivariate Poisson regression analysis was used to investigate the factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy.
Results: The prevalence of vaccination and vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women was 13.4% (n=217) and 50.9% (n=825), respectively. The main reasons for hesitancy were concerns about adverse reactions and negative effects on the fetus and breastfeeding. The significant factor for vaccine hesitancy was the lack of trust in the government (adjusted PR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.03-1.54). Other factors such as age, educational attainment, state of emergency declaration were not associated with vaccine hesitancy.
Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination is not widespread among pregnant women in Japan although many vaccines have been shown to be safe in pregnancy. Accurate information dissemination and boosting trust in the government may be important to address vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women.
Keywords: COVID-19; pregnancy; vaccine; vaccine hesitancy.
. 2022 Jan 29.
doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20210458. Online ahead of print.
The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination and vaccine hesitancy in pregnant women: an internet-based cross-sectional study in Japan
Yoshihiko Hosokawa[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Sumiyo Okawa[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Ai Hori[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Naho Morisaki[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Yoko Takahashi[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Takeo Fujiwara[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Shoji F Nakayama[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Hiromi Hamada[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Toyomi Satoh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Takahiro Tabuchi[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35095091
- DOI: 10.2188/jea.JE20210458
Abstract
Background: Reluctance of people to receive recommended vaccines is a growing concern as distribution of vaccines is considered critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. There is little information regarding pregnant women's views toward coronavirus vaccination in Japan. Therefore, we investigated the vaccination rate and reasons for vaccination and vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women in Japan.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 1,791 pregnant women using data from the Japan "COVID-19 and Society" Internet Survey, conducted from July to August 2021, and valid response from 1,621 respondents were analyzed. We defined participants with vaccine hesitancy as those who identified with the statement "I do not want to be vaccinated" or "I want to 'wait and see' before getting vaccinated." Multivariate Poisson regression analysis was used to investigate the factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy.
Results: The prevalence of vaccination and vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women was 13.4% (n=217) and 50.9% (n=825), respectively. The main reasons for hesitancy were concerns about adverse reactions and negative effects on the fetus and breastfeeding. The significant factor for vaccine hesitancy was the lack of trust in the government (adjusted PR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.03-1.54). Other factors such as age, educational attainment, state of emergency declaration were not associated with vaccine hesitancy.
Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination is not widespread among pregnant women in Japan although many vaccines have been shown to be safe in pregnancy. Accurate information dissemination and boosting trust in the government may be important to address vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women.
Keywords: COVID-19; pregnancy; vaccine; vaccine hesitancy.