COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in the communes of Bamako, Mali

Abstract

Although vaccine development is a considerable achievement, only recently has significant attention been paid to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy could be an obstacle to optimizing the uptake and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. This study aims to determine the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the communes of Bamako, Mali. It is a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study using a questionnaire to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The study population consisted of adults living in the communes of Bamako, Mali. A total of 532 people living in the communes of Bamako agreed to participate, more than half of whom were women. Approximately 18.6% had already received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Fear of side effects (77.1%) was the main reason for reluctance to COVID-19 vaccination. This study reported a significant relationship between vaccination status and sociodemographic characteristics, namely sex (p=0.01), age (p=0.02), marital status (p=0.04), education level (p=0.01), and knowledge about COVID-19 vaccination (p=0.002). Vaccine hesitancy is a looming threat in the fight against COVID-19, as achieving herd immunity depends on both the vaccine's efficacy and the public's willingness to accept it.