Understanding COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among Iranian Pregnant Women: Insights From a Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

I am writing this Letter to the Editor in response to an article published in November 2024 in Health Science Reports, titled “Understanding COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among Iranian Pregnant Women: Insights From a Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.” While Fathnezhad-Kazemi et al., have made a remarkable effort to draw a comparison between Zahedan and Tabriz [1], however, the data was collected solely from healthcare settings. As the next step to generalize these findings, such studies can be carried out in settings where sample selection is not just limited to healthcare centers. Such community-based sampling would help us explore the disparities in healthcare facilities [2], as there is variation in the provision of health care in different regions depending on various socioeconomic factors, healthcare indices, and developmental gaps [3, 4].

Nevertheless, this article highlights the positive influence of education towards attitudes about vaccination, which can be implemented by policymakers to tackle vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, counseling people regarding religious reservations can be beneficial in conservative societies. It must be noted that negative attitudes towards vaccination based on religious themes are not just limited to lower middle-income countries; such themes were also uncovered in the United States by Zimmerman et al., during their research on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy [5]. Counseling tailored according to themes underlying vaccine hesitancy can be beneficial in improving the attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. This includes the joint effort of all the sectors that can influence public opinion as suggested by the “Multisectoral Approach” [6], which stresses the collaboration of religious leaders, policymakers, and healthcare providers to adopt a holistic approach to tackle vaccine hesitancy.

Muhammad Hasham Khawaja: conceptualization, writing–original draft, writing–review and editing, project administration. Omna Daulat Khawaja: conceptualization, writing–original draft, writing–review and editing, project administration.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the subject matter of this article. This research has not received any grants or funding and/or other support that facilitated conduct of the work described in the article or the writing of the article itself. The views expressed in the submitted article are our own and not an official position of the institution. There is no involvement of patient or public in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of our research. I confirm that neither this manuscript, nor any other with substantially similar content by one or more of the same authors, has been published, accepted or is currently being assessed by another journal with a view to publication.