Document Type

Article

Abstract

This study assesses COVID-19 vaccine intentions among a sample of older Syrian refugee beneficiaries of a humanitarian organization in Lebanon, and explores factors associated with vaccine refusal. The findings are part of an ongoing rotating 4-wave panel study. The sample was limited to participants from the first panel who completed a phone interview between January-February 2021. Out of 1,037 beneficiaries, almost a third (29%) reported no intention to vaccinate. Reasons for refusal were: newness of the vaccine (35%); preference to maintain precaution measures (21%); belief that the COVID-19 vaccine is not essential (21%); and other (23%). COVID-19 vaccine refusal was significantly associated with perceptions regarding vaccine safety (OR: 5.97; 95%CI: 4.03–8.84) and effectiveness (OR: 6.80; 95%CI:4.44–10.42) but did not differ by age, presence of chronic conditions, self-reported adherence to COVID-19 measures, and perceptions of susceptibility to and severity of COVID-19. Addressing vaccine hesitancy among Syrian refugees in Lebanon necessitates disseminating accurate, accessible, and culturally appropriate information about vaccine safety and effectiveness.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101606

Rights

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

APA Citation

Salibi, N., Abdulrahim, S., El Haddad, M., Bassil, S., El Khoury, Z., Ghattas, H., & McCall, S. J. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in older Syrian refugees: Preliminary findings from an ongoing study. Preventive Medicine Reports, 24, 101606.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101606

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